United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is set to arrive in Dhaka this afternoon for a four-day official visit at the invitation of Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
Guterres will arrive on Emirates flight EK-586, landing at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 5:00 PM today. Upon his arrival, he will be welcomed by Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain before heading to his residence at the InterContinental Hotel.
On Friday morning, Guterres will meet with Foreign Affairs Adviser Hossain and High Representative of the Chief Adviser on the Rohingya Issue, Dr. Khalilur Rahman, at the hotel. Later, he will have a meeting with Dr. Yunus at the Chief Adviser’s Office.
Following the meeting in Dhaka, Guterres will fly to Cox’s Bazar to visit the Rohingya refugee camps. He will be received by Disaster Management and Relief Adviser Faruk E Azam at Cox’s Bazar Airport.
In Cox’s Bazar, the UN chief will join Dr. Yunus for an Iftar with around 100,000 Rohingya refugees. They are expected to meet with Rohingya imams and community leaders during the event. Prior to the Iftar, Guterres will tour various camp facilities, including the Watch Tower, Learning Centre, Multi-purpose Service Centre, and a jute production site, and is expected to engage with Rohingya youth and children.
Guterres will return to Dhaka the same evening to resume his stay at the InterContinental Hotel.
On Saturday, the UN Secretary-General will visit the UN Common Premises in Dhaka, where he will raise the UN flag, attend a photo exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh-UN relations, and meet with UN staff. In the afternoon, he will join a roundtable discussion on Bangladesh’s reform process and engage in a dialogue with youth and civil society members. Guterres will also likely participate in a joint media briefing with Foreign Affairs Adviser Hossain.
In the evening, Chief Adviser Dr. Yunus will host an Iftar and dinner in honor of Guterres.
On Sunday, Guterres will depart Dhaka at 9:55 AM on an Emirates flight, with Dr. Khalilur Rahman present at the airport to see him off.
This visit highlights Bangladesh’s rising diplomatic influence and underscores the global urgency of addressing the ongoing Rohingya crisis. In a recent letter to Dr. Yunus, Guterres expressed his hope that an upcoming high-level conference on Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar will garner international attention and foster solutions for their plight. He emphasized the UN’s commitment to supporting Bangladesh in its role as a host for the Rohingya refugees.
