Role of Bangladesh in UN Peacekeeping is highly praised

DHAKA, Oct. 30 (NsNewsWire) — Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has attended a Ministerial
Conference on ‘Peacekeeping in Francophone Environment’ at the International Convention Centre, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development of France today.

He was taking part at the Ministerial at the invitation of Jean-Marc Ayrault, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development of France.

The Conference, organized by France, aimed at strengthening the Peacekeeping mechanism in the French-speaking environment. France, Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, and Senegal co-chaired the conference.
Harvey Ladsus, UN Under Secretary General (USG) for Peacekeeping, French
and Canadian Foreign Ministers, among others, highly praised the Bangladeshi Peacekeepers deployed in the Francophone Missions.

UN USG Ladsus particularly applauded Bangladesh’s efforts to learn French language
to better perform their duties in the Francophone areas.

Foreign Minister Ali reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to remain one of
the first responders to the UN’s call for troop and police. He highlighted
the efforts of Bangladeshi peacekeepers in ensuring sustained peace in the
conflict affected areas. He underscored the need for intelligence, modern
technologies, and advanced equipments to serve the peacekeepers’ vital
interest on the ground, particularly to enhance their capacity for
maintaining peace, protecting civilians and ensuring their own safety and
security. He also highlighted Bangladesh’s commitment to increase women’s
participation in the UN peacekeeping Missions in the coming days.

Foreign Minister Ali held a bilateral meeting with his French Counterpart
on the same day. They expressed satisfaction over the existing level of
cooperation between the two countries and assured each other of further
engagement on the issues of mutual interests.

Baroness Joice Anelay, British Minister of State for the Commonwealth and
the UN at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office also met with Foreign Minister
Ali.

Later on the day, Bangladesh, French, Canadian and Senegalese Foreign
Minsters briefed the press and media on the conference.

As many as 60 countries and international organizations including 20
Ministerial delegations, took part in the Conference. The Ministerial
Conference was preceded by four thematic roundtables held on 26 October
2016, where Bangladesh Co-chaired the roundtable-1 on Force Generation.
Lieutenant General Sabbir Ahmed, Chief of General Staff, Bangladesh Army
and Ms. Sadia Faizunnesa, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
also participated in the Conference.

Attachments: Photos of the Conference