PM to leave Dhaka for Doha on Mar 4

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to leave Dhaka for Doha on March 4 to participate in the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), to be held on March 5-9.

Prime Minister’s participation at the conference is very important to share Bangladesh’s amazing graduation experience with all the stakeholders including the UN and ensure a smooth and sustainable graduation, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin in a weekly briefing on Thursday, sharing the PM’s schedule during her stay in Doha, Qatar.

Bangladesh will call for global support for smooth transition in Bangladesh's LDC graduation.

This will be the last LDC summit where Bangladesh will be attending as the country will be graduating from least developed country (LDC) status by 2026.

The premier will be visiting Qatar at the invitation of the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and Education Minister Dipu Moni, among others, will be accompanying her during the visit.

The prime minister will lead a high-level delegation and will hold bilateral meeting with her Qatari counterpart apart from her participation at the LDC5 conference. She will also have meeting with the Emir of Qatar.

Bilateral issues including cooperation in the areas of energy sector will come up for discussion.
On March 5, the PM will deliver a speech at the opening plenary meeting as a special guest.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, UN General Assembly President and current chair of LDC Group will also speak at the plenary meeting.

The Prime Minister will also deliver a speech at an event on the sidelines, titled “Sustainable and Smooth Transition for the Graduating Cohort of 2021”.

On March 6, she will speak as the chief guest at a business summit, titled “The Rise of Bengal Tiger: Potential of Trade and Investment in Bangladesh.”

On March 7, the Prime Minister will attend a high-level dialogue on “Enhancing the participation of LDCs in International Trade and Regional Integration”.

She will also attend an event, titled “Global Partnership for Smooth and Sustainable Graduation: Marching towards Smart Bangladesh” as the special guest.

The LDC5 is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to accelerate sustainable development in the places where international assistance is needed the most — and to tap the full potential of the Least Developed Countries, helping them make progress on the road to prosperity. 

Over five days of the LDC5 Conference in Doha, world leaders will gather with the private sector, civil society, parliamentarians, and young people to advance new ideas, raise new pledges of support, and spur delivery on agreed commitments, through the Doha Programme of Action.

At the conference, it is expected that specific initiatives and concrete deliverables will be announced that will address LDC-specific challenges.

The conference will feature plenary sessions, parallel high-level thematic roundtables, and a series of parallel and side events on various thematic priorities of the DPoA.

A Summit level meeting of the LDC Group, chaired by the President of Malawi, will be held on the day before the conference.

A commemoration event on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Group of LDCs will be held after the opening session on March 5, 2023.

There will also be dedicated events for the private sector, CSOs, youths, parliamentarians and South-South tracks on the margins of the conference.

The world’s Least Developed Countries are in a race against time to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

The remaining years need to usher in a new global partnership to ensure these 46 countries benefit from social, economic and environmental development, according to the UN.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to leave Doha for Dhaka on March 8.