Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday expressed concern about financial and commercial challenges alongside food and energy crisis facing the developing countries in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as Russia-Ukraine war.

The PM expressed this worry while executive chairman of World Economic Forum Professor Klaus Schwab paid a courtesy call on her at her place of residence in New York.

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen and state minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam briefed the newsmen about the day’s activities of the prime minister on the sidelines of participating the 77th session of United Nations General Assembly.

Sheikh Hasina hoped that cooperation between Bangladesh and WEF would increase in the future in dealing with the challenges arisen from pandemic and war, socio-economic development through information technology and facing climate change effects, and expanding trade.

Professor Schwab invited the Bangladesh PM to attend the WEF Summit in Davos next January.

The Bangladesh prime minister also had a bilateral meeting with Slovenian president Borut Pahor at bilateral booth in United Nations Headquarters.

In the meeting, bilateral issues on cooperation between Bangladesh and Slovenia were discussed.

Later, another bilateral meeting between Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and president of Ecuador Guillermo Lasso was held at bilateral booth in United Nations Headquarters.

Both the leaders discussed the bilateral issues of cooperation between the two countries.

On the other hand, UN under secretary general at office of the high representative for the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states Rabab Fatima paid a courtesy call on the prime minister at the bilateral meeting room in her place of residence.

Sheikh Hasina  expressed hope that OHRLLS would play a more active role in helping the LDC and developing countries so that international financial institutions provides assistance without imposing strict conditions during the global crisis.

Rabab Fatima invited the prime minister to participate in the LDC-5 Conference to be held in Doha in March, 2023.

At the end, Nick Clegg, president of Global Affairs, Meta called on the Bangladesh PM at the bilateral meeting room in her place of residence.

The prime minister at the meeting mentioned the significant success achieved by Bangladesh in the information technology sector.

Potential aspects of cooperation between Bangladesh and Meta in the field of information technology were also discussed at the meeting.

Praising achievements of the present government in building digital Bangladesh, Nick Clegg expressed his pleasure to provide Meta’s full cooperation in the ongoing development of Internet-based business for the country’s economic development.