New York, 13 October 2020:     

Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, Ambassador Rabab Fatima said, “‘Eradicating poverty in all its forms everywhere’ is an overarching goal for Agenda-2030. For creating a poverty-free world, mobilizing adequate resources and financing is critical”. She was addressing the Second Committee of the General Assembly on eradication of poverty in New York today.

Highlighting the success of the Government of Bangladesh in eradicating poverty, Ambassador Fatima mentioned that Bangladesh has launched a national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) which helped to identify people who are vulnerable to Covid-19 pandemic and shocks.

Cautioning that the ongoing Covid pandemic may slow down the rate of poverty reduction, she made some specific recommendations. Ambassador Fatima called upon the development partners for taking initiatives for the revival of sources of remittance, export earning, ODA and private financing for Bangladesh for building back better after the pandemic. Referring to the possible challenges that Bangladesh might face after graduating from the LDC status, she requested for the maintenance of the existing special and differential treatment and exemptions for an extended period.

We must foster productive capacity building and financial inclusion of the developing countries for abolition of the digital divide, she added.

In view of the dual challenge of the current pandemic and the climate vulnerabilities faced by Bangladesh, she requested development partners for additional financial and technological support to complement Bangladesh’s national efforts. Referring to the challenges the migrant workers are facing due to the pandemic, she also stressed on the need for addressing the issues of falling remittance and return of migrant workers.