United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix arrived in Dhaka on Saturday night to attend the first UN peacekeeping ministerial two-day preparatory meeting slated to begin on Sunday (June 25).
UN director general of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, director general (ops and planning) of Armed Forces Division and deputy inspector general (operations) of Bangladesh Police, welcomed him at the airport.
Besides, UN Under Secretary General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance Catherine Pollard will grace the opening and closing ceremonies of the event on June 25-26.
This is the first of a series of four themed conferences ahead of the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial, to be held in Accra, Ghana, on 5 and 6 December 2023," said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Friday.
The theme of the preparatory meeting, which is co-hosted by Bangladesh, Canada, and Uruguay, is “Women in UN Peacekeeping”.
Lacroix is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam during his visit.
He also has scheduled meetings with the chief of services (Army, Navy, Airforce) and the inspector general of police (IGP), said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two-day meeting will welcome representatives from troop and police contributing countries, and UN peacekeeping experts to discuss the progress, challenges and good practices to promote women’s meaningful participation in UN peacekeeping and to foster gender-responsive leadership.
The United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial is an important opportunity for Member States to come together in a collective effort to strengthen the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and their impact on the communities they serve, according to the UN.
In 2023, the Peacekeeping Ministerial will be hosted by Ghana in Accra on December 5-6.
The discussions will focus on concrete measures to improve operations in line with ongoing reform through Action for Peacekeeping, A4P+ and the Digital Transformation Strategy.
Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to the UN peacekeeping operations.
BDST: 0841 HRS, JUNE 25, 2023
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