UN lauds Bangladesh's peacekeeping role

UN Field Support Department Under Secretary General Atul Khare has praised the "outstanding contribution" of Bangladesh to the field of peacekeeping. "The professionalism and forthcoming attitude of Bangladeshi peacekeepers is really praiseworthy," he said while inaugurating a two-day workshop on "Peacekeeping Rapid Deployment" at the Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the UN in New York on Thursday. "The objectives of this workshop are to discuss and analyse key challenges facing the rapid deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation to develop a guidance document and related actions for future deployments," according to a media release, reports BSS. Khare appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's "active role and personal interest" in strengthening UN efforts in peacekeeping. [caption id="attachment_55714" align="aligncenter" width="800"] UN peacekeepers from Bangladesh arrive as reinforcements in Matadi, DR Congo, on February 2  AFP[/caption] He also highlighted the high standard of maintenance of equipment by the Bangladeshi peacekeepers. About 80 representatives from the USA, France, China, Canada, Germany, Japan, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, African Union (AU), European Union (EU), NATO and other UN organisations attended the workshop organised by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Strategic Force Generation Cell. The event is the follow up to the Leaders' Summit co-hosted by Bangladesh in 2015, which currently is one of the leading troop and police contributing countries with about 7,000 peacekeepers in 11 different UN missions. Bangladesh is also one of the countries committed to rapid deployment within 60 days of notification by the UN.