FM heads for int'l connectivity conf

Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen left Dhaka for Uzbekistan on Wednesday to join an international conference to be held in Tashkent on July 15-16.
A number of heads of government and foreign ministers of nearly 40 countries will join the in-person conference titled “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity - Challenges and Opportunities”, hosted by Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to strengthen regional connectivity.
The high-level international conference is intended to form a political and expert platform for multilateral discussion of the mutually beneficial strategic model - Central Asia - South Asia -in transport and logistics, energy, trade, industry, investment, technological, cultural and humanitarian domains.
The conference will consist of an opening ceremony, to be joined by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, a plenary session, three breakout sessions, and a final part.
During the conference, the Bangladesh foreign minister would advocate for expediting regional connectivity as Dhaka has already emerged as the ‘connectivity leader’ in the international arena.
Momen will also hold bilateral meetings with his Russian, Indian and Chinese counterparts on the sideline of the conference.
Apart from bilateral matters, he is likely to highlight the issue of Rohingya repatriation during his meeting with foreign ministers of Russia, India and China.
“I will give a brief to my Russian counterpart about the current situation of the Rohingya crisis as well as the resolution on human rights violation against Rohingya that was adopted in the UN (on Monday),” the foreign minister told media on Tuesday while disclosing about his trip.
Momen said he planned the briefing to his Russian counterpart as recently the Myanmar army chief visited Moscow and talked about the arms deal.
The ongoing 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted the resolution on "Human Rights Situation of Rohingya Muslims and other Minorities in Myanmar" unanimously for the first time since the massive influx of Rohingyas from Myanmar into Bangladesh in August 2017.