Bangladesh will support UN reforms: Iftekhar

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Bangladesh prides itself on consistently being a major global peacemaker under the United Nations (UN), foreign adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said Thursday after meetings with top UN officials in New York, reports bdnews24.com.
The foreign adviser spoke to the media after a series of meetings with top UN officials, including under secretary-general of peacekeeping operations Alain Le Roy, under secretary-general of field support Susana Malcorra and under secretary-general of management Angela Kane.
"Apart from presence of troops and forming police units in every major operation, we also now have two command positions in Liberia and Georgia," said the foreign adviser.
"Ours is a contribution which has been appreciated by every senior official at the UN I have spoken to, and I have spoken to many," he said.
Besides peacekeeping, there are three other important current issues that Bangladesh is providing leadership in.
These are climate change adaptation, food security, and the problems of least developed countries, Iftekhar said.
"The international community sees such roles as extremely positive and constructive, and such perceptions heighten the nation's global profile and image."
"Multilateral diplomacy is an important part of our foreign policy, and the goodwill that we create thereby increases international support and understanding for Bangladesh which is helpful domestically for our progress and development," he said.
Iftekhar left for New York on Sept 20 with chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed to attend the 63rd United Nations General Assembly, which the interim government head addressed on Sept 26.
Iftekhar held a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the general assembly.
Among those he met were US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte, British secretary of state for international development Douglas Alexander, and European commissioner for external relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner.