Karachi, 26 October 2022:

Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner in Karachi, S. M. Mahbubul Alam attended as the Guest of Honour at events arranged by ‘Diplomatic Business Club’ and ‘World Diplomatic and Social Forum’ in Karachi. Consuls General and other diplomats of different countries, leading businesspersons and other dignitaries were present at the programs.

Deputy High Commissioner S. M. Mahbubul Alam mentioned that Bangladesh has been pursuing the foreign policy of “Friendship to all and malice towards none” since her Independence in 1971 as was postulated by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which continues to provide the philosophical underpinning of Bangladesh’s pro-peace foreign policy. He further mentioned that Father of the Nation propounded the peace and development-centric foreign policy, which remains the guiding principle of Bangladesh’s diplomatic engagements today. Highlighting the success stories of Bangladesh in diplomatic fronts both in bilateralism and multilateralism, the Deputy High Commissioner as for an example cited that recently Bangladesh has been elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the term 2023-2025 with the highest number votes (160 votes) secured by any candidate in the Asia-Pacific Group in a secret ballot held at the 77th UNGA. Bangladesh was also elected in the UNHRC elections in 2006, 2009, 2014 and 2018, which as for example bespeaks about the extraordinary image of Bangladesh in the international community.

Deputy High Commissioner further highlighted that Bangladesh was the leading proponent and had significant role in mooting the notion and steering the UN General Assembly resolution on ‘Culture of Peace’ in 1999. The resolution on ‘Culture of Peace’ shapes the enduring commitment of Bangladesh to the cause of global peace. Significantly, Bangladesh’s flagship UNGA resolution on ‘Culture of Peace’ has the continued relevance in advancing peacebuilding globally. The current peacebuilding architecture of the UN offers a viable means for promotion of positive peace, which promises to prevent the outbreak, escalation, continuation and recurrence of conflicts and end hostilities by addressing their root causes, he added. The notion and importance of ‘Culture of Peace’ is recognized by the world community in the context of current global challenges. He further highlighted that Bangladesh ranks as the top troops and police contributing country in the UN Peacekeeping operations. Bangladesh being a small country with huge population has provided temporary shelter to more than a million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals on humanitarian grounds, which the international community highly lauded. Deputy High Commission S. M. Mahbubul Alam further highlighted that international community has already cited Bangladesh as the ‘Role Model’ for socio-economic development. Pursing the motto of “Friendship to all and malice towards none”, Bangladesh successfully maintains extraordinary relationships with all including the global players, development partners, and the international and regional organizations.