US President Barack Obama has invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to join a meeting with him in New York on September 23.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh James F Moriarty formally handed over a letter of invitation from the US president to Sheikh Hasina when he paid a call on her at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) this morning. Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad briefed newsmen after the meeting.
President Obama invited heads of governments of 10 UN peacekeeper contributing nations, including the Bangladesh prime minister, to join the meeting with him in New York to exchange views and experiences on UN peacekeeping operations across the world. Bangladesh is the second highest contributor to the UN peacekeeping missions with regard to number of peacekeepers while the United States secured the number one position in financial contributions to the UN peacekeeping missions.
The US ambassador said President Barack Obama invited Sheikh Hasina to attend the meeting as the United States attaches high value to Bangladesh’s enormous experiences in the peacekeeping operations in restoring peace and rebuilding several war torn regions in the world. Moriarty said he came to meet the Bangladesh prime minister to express deep appreciation on behalf of his government on how Sheikh Hasina herself and the Bangladesh government expressed sympathy at the death of Senator Edward Kennedy.
In reply, Sheikh Hasina mentioned that she and her party had close relation with Senator Kennedy for long time. She said Bangladeshi people will always remember Senator Edward Kennedy with great admiration for his invaluable contributions to the war of liberation in 1971. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and US Ambassador Moriarty said Bangladesh and the United States are enjoying excellent bilateral relations and hoped that the relations will be strengthened further in the days to come.