Bangladesh extends an invitation to UN Secretary General Guterres for a visit in 2025

The government has invited UN Secretary General António Guterres to visit Bangladesh in 2025 at a mutually convenient time to witness the country's ongoing transformation.  

On behalf of Chief Adviser Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith, extended the invitation during a meeting on December 17.  

The Secretary General reaffirmed his full support for the interim government led by Prof. Yunus and expressed optimism about Bangladesh’s continued active engagement in promoting multilateralism within the UN system. He highlighted Bangladesh’s contributions to addressing pressing global challenges such as climate change, development, international peace and security, and food and water insecurity.  

Ambassador Muhith paid a farewell visit to the UN Secretary General at the UN Headquarters, where they discussed the upcoming all-stakeholder high-level International Conference on Rohingya, planned for the first quarter of 2025. The conference was recently endorsed by consensus in a resolution adopted during the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.  

Ambassador Muhith sought the Secretary General’s support to ensure the conference is result-oriented, with the goal of reviewing the crisis and formulating a comprehensive, actionable, and time-bound plan for resolving it. This includes the voluntary, safe, and dignified repatriation of Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar.  

The Secretary General expressed deep concern over the plight of the Rohingyas and commended Bangladesh for its significant role in sheltering the displaced population. He assured the UN's full support for the high-level conference and emphasised the importance of its success in finding a durable solution to the crisis.  

During the meeting, Ambassador Muhith also briefed the Secretary General on the formation of six reform commissions by the interim government, covering public administration, anti-corruption, judiciary, police, electoral systems, and constitutional reforms, all aimed at facilitating a free, fair, and credible general election in Bangladesh.  

The Secretary General praised Ambassador Muhith for his outstanding contributions as Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN and expressed confidence that Bangladesh would continue to benefit from his extensive expertise in multilateral diplomacy.  

The farewell meeting was attended by officials from the Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the UN and the Executive Office of the Secretary General.  

Ambassador Muhith, a seasoned diplomat and former Ambassador to Austria and Denmark, joined the Bangladesh Permanent Mission in New York in August 2022. During his tenure, he held several prominent positions, including President of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS in 2024, Chair of the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly’s 79th Session, Chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission in 2022, Vice Chair in 2023, and President of the Executive Board of UN Women in 2022.  

Recently, he was elected as a member of the prestigious International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) for 2025–2028, following a highly competitive election held at the UN Headquarters in November.