https://www.newagebd.net/post/foreign-affairs/314983/khalilur-rahman-under-spotlight-as-he-steers-81st-unga

Khalilur Rahman under spotlight as he steers 81st UNGA
Staff Correspondent 23 September, 2026, 09:08


Bangladesh foreign minister and president of UNGA 81st session Khalilur Rahman in a Facebook post shared his personal exchange with US president Donald Trump. | Collected Photo

Khalilur Rahman, president of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, is under spotlight as he presides over the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, with world leaders gathering in New York amid wars and geopolitical tensions.

The high-level general debate, which began on September 22 and will continue through September 26, is the most visible test so far for Khalilur Rahman, who was elected president of the 81st session in June.

US president Donald Trump was among the first speakers to take the stage.

Gathering of world leaders takes place against a backdrop of global conflicts, environmental crisis and massive technical disruption

The foreign minister of Bangladesh formally took the chair when the session opened on September 8 and is presiding over the general debate as presidents, prime ministers and other senior representatives address the 193-member Assembly.

US president Donald Trump delivered his address while Khalilur Rahman, as UNGA president, was seated behind him alongside UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

He later held a brief exchange with Trump.

The 81ar session of the UNGA is being held under the theme ‘Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.’

Khalilur Rahman has placed restoring confidence in the UN and making the organisation more responsive at the centre of his presidency.

His presidency comes as the UN faces a series of major challenges, including conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, humanitarian crises, climate change and the rapid development of artificial intelligence.

For him, the presidency provides Bangladesh with a prominent role at the centre of the UN’s most important annual diplomatic gathering.

A veteran diplomat with more than 30 years of UN experience, Khalilur Rahman has attended 16 sessions of the General Assembly earlier.

Opening the general debate on September 22, Rahman said, ‘Outside these walls, people are not asking whether the United Nations still exists. They are asking whether it works.’​

PM Tarique Rahman’s three-country tour planned for October, November

Raheed Ejaz
Dhaka



Prime Minister Tarique Rahman BSS

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is preparing to visit three countries in October and November. He is scheduled to visit Japan and Saudi Arabia on bilateral visits, while he will travel to Turkey to attend the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31).

Bangladeshi diplomatic sources in Tokyo, Riyadh and Ankara told Prothom Alo on Saturday.

According to the sources, preliminary preparations have begun for the prime minister’s visit to Japan in October, followed by visits to Turkey and Saudi Arabia in November.

Diplomatic sources in Tokyo, Riyadh and Ankara said the prime minister is expected to visit Japan in the final week of October. He is then expected to visit Turkey in early November and Saudi Arabia in the second half of the month.

Diplomatic sources said preliminary preparations for the three upcoming visits have already begun. Senior officials are communicating with the respective countries.

Diplomatic sources in Dhaka and Tokyo said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to visit Japan at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Senior officials from the two countries recently held discussions in Dhaka on arranging the three- to four-day visit in the final week of October.

A diplomatic source in Ankara told Prothom Alo that a summit of leaders participating in COP31 will be held in Anatolia, Turkey, from 10 to 12 November. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will travel to Turkey to attend the summit.

According to diplomatic sources in Dhaka, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman may visit Riyadh in the second half of November at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. Officials from the two countries have begun discussions on arranging the visit.

Japan visit

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s three- to four-day visit to Tokyo in the final week of October, at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, comes as the two countries continue efforts to deepen their relations.

In May 2025, Bangladesh’s then Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus visited Tokyo. During his visit, the two countries signed seven memorandums of understanding in investment, energy and technology. They set a target of sending 100,000 skilled Bangladeshi workers to Japan over five years. The two countries also reaffirmed their strategic partnership during the visit.

Japan said at the time that, under its Bay of Bengal initiative, it would step up cooperation to expand Japanese investment in Bangladesh, including infrastructure development.

Investment expansion, organising a business conference and reviewing progress in exporting manpower could receive priority during Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s upcoming visit to Japan.

Turkey visit

COP31 will be held in Anatolia, Turkey, from 9 to 20 November. The COP31 summit of leaders will take place on 11 and 12 November. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will visit Turkey for those two days.

Diplomatic sources indicate that holding the summit of leaders on the third and fourth days rather than the first two days of COP31 is being viewed as a strategy to maintain political attention.

Analysts say the conference is important for Bangladesh as a country vulnerable to climate change. More than a decade after the Paris climate agreement, the key question is no longer about setting new targets. Rather, it is about how previously announced targets will be implemented and how effective climate finance and compensation funds will be.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s planned visit to Riyadh in the second half of November at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is also significant.

Saudi visit

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s planned visit to Riyadh in the second half of November at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is also significant.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in taking its relations with Bangladesh beyond traditional manpower exports.

At a meeting in Dhaka last August, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed El-Khereiji expressed interest in investing in fisheries, food, energy, renewable energy, information technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdullah Jafar H. Bin Abia recently said the next five years could be a transformative period for the economic relationship between the two countries. He described Bangladesh as one of South Asia’s dynamic investment destinations.

More than 2.8 million Bangladeshis currently work in Saudi Arabia, making the country Bangladesh’s largest labour market.

Diplomatic sources said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s planned visit to Saudi Arabia could focus on strengthening bilateral relations, energy imports, investment agreements and exchanges of views on regional and international issues. Continued Saudi support on the Rohingya issue could also receive importance.​