Staff Reporter:
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam yesterday described Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman’s election as President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
as a victory for Bangladesh’s 170 million people.
“I believe this victory belongs to the 170 million people of Bangladesh under the leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, as it has secured a highly prestigious position for Bangladesh on the global stage and in the international community,” she said while speaking to reporters at the foreign ministry here this afternoon.
Shama Obaed said the landmark achievement reflected Bangladesh’s growing international stature under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Bangladesh had also achieved significant successes at the United Nations during the tenure of BNP founder and former President Shaheed Ziaur Rahman, who pursued a “Bangladesh First” foreign policy based on maintaining relations with all countries, she said.
The state minister said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has advanced that policy further since assuming office.
Shama attributed Khalilur Rahman’s victory to the Prime Minister’s strong leadership as well as the for-eign minister’s qualifications, competence, capability and broad acceptability among UN member states.
She thanked all those involved in the successful three-month campaign, including officials and staff of Bangladesh’s 81 missions abroad.
On Tuesday, Khalilur Rahman was elected President of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly after defeating Cyprus’ Special Envoy for Multilateralism Andreas S. Kakouris in a secret ballot held at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Of the 190 votes cast, Khalilur Rahman secured 99 votes against Kakouris’ 91.
Responding to questions about Khalilur Rahman’s future role as foreign minister, Shama said any deci-sion on the matter rests entirely with Prime Minister Tareque Rahman.
“It is entirely the Prime Minister’s decision. I believe the matter will be decided through discussions be-tween the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister,” she added.
She noted that if Khalilur Rahman dedicates himself fully to his responsibilities as President of the Gen-eral Assembly, he would need to spend considerable time in New York, though that does not necessarily prevent him from continuing as foreign minister.
Asked about speculation that he may remain in New York for a year and that an acting foreign minister could be appointed, Shama said she was unaware of any such decision.
“Under the Prime Minister’s strong leadership, we achieved this victory. He will decide how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will operate,” she said.
When asked whether she could be assigned additional responsibilities, the state minister replied, “I do not know anything about that. I am happy serving as the State Minister for Foreign Affairs.”
The election marks Bangladesh’s return to the presidency of the UN General Assembly after four dec-ades.
