John Kerry to arrive in Bangladesh on April 9

PBC News: John Kerry, the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on April 9 on a daylong visit during which Bangladesh will convey its priority issues to him on the climate front.

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“Yes, we’re happy that he’s coming. We worked with him before, too,” Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told UNB.

Kerry will hand over the invitation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in person to attend the “Leaders Summit on Climate” to be held on April 22 and 23, Momen said.

US President Joe Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Prime Minister Hasina, to the summit that he will host. The virtual summit will be live-streamed for public viewing.

The “Leaders Summit on Climate” will underscore the urgency – and the economic benefits – of stronger climate action.

It will be a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November in Glasgow.

“We’ll be happy to convey our priority issues. We’ll also share the steps that Bangladesh has taken so far,” Momen said.

He added that Bangladesh believes that adaptation is not enough, and there has to be mitigation and Bangladesh needs support as promised by others.

“It should be Kerry’s special target,” he said.

Momen said Bangladesh did not create the problem and the responsible countries should share responsibility of rehabilitating and protecting people from river erosions.

During his recent meeting with Kerry, the foreign minister discussed the global issue of climate change, and the possible US-Bangladesh collaboration in this connection.