UN chief lauds Bangladesh’s Covid mitigation efforts

GBNEWS24 DESK//

Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres has highly applauded Bangladesh’s tremendous efforts in mitigating the health and socio-economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said this while meeting the Foreign Minister virtually on Thursday, reports UNB.

Referring to Bangladesh’s past successes in disaster management, the UN Secretary General said, in view of Bangladesh’s ranking as a global leader in risk mitigation, he was not surprised to see such accomplishment.

He expressed admiration for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, especially for her strong commitment to the people of Bangladesh, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.

They also agreed that Covid-19 vaccination should be treated as ‘global public good’.

The Secretary General highly appreciated Bangladesh’s generosity in giving shelter to the Rohingyas and reiterated that the return of refugees to Myanmar is their common objective.

The Secretary General said the UN stands ready to support Bangladesh in resolving the crisis.

The Foreign Minister apprised the Secretary General of the measures taken by the Government in Bhasan Char and requested the UN’s support for humanitarian assistance there for the Rohingyas.

Appreciating SG’s strong commitment to climate action, the Foreign Minister welcomed Secretary General’s call to mobilise climate financing and said that as the current CVF President, Bangladesh would continue to work together with the UN to achieve climate ambition and build resilience in preparation for the COP 26 in Glasgow this year.

Stating that fighting climate change is the battle of his life, the Secretary General mentioned he would be pursuing the donors to allocate 50% of proposed climate funds for adaptation strategies.

He termed Bangladesh’s enormous adaptation efforts on the coastal region and managing rivers as remarkable efforts.