<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday 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.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The Premier expressed this worry while Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum (WEF) Professor Klaus Schwab paid a courtesy call on her at her place of residence in New York.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam briefed the newsmen about today's activities of the Prime Minister on the sidelines of participating the 77th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sheikh Hasina hoped that cooperation between Bangladesh and WEF will 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Professor Schwab invited the Bangladesh Premier to attend the WEF Summit in Davos next January.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Bangladesh Prime Minister also had a bilateral meeting with Slovenian President Borut Pahor at bilateral booth in United Nations Headquarters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the meeting, bilateral issues on cooperation between Bangladesh and Slovenia were discussed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both the leaders discussed the bilateral issues of cooperation between the two countries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">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 (UN-OHRLLS) Rabab Fatima paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister at the bilateral meeting room in her place of residence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sheikh Hasina&nbsp; expressed hope that OHRLLS will 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rabab Fatima invited the Prime Minister to participate in the LDC-5 Conference to be held in Doha in March, 2023.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the end, Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs, Meta called on the Bangladesh Premier at the bilateral meeting room in her place of residence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Prime Minister at the meeting mentioned the significant success achieved by Bangladesh in the information technology sector.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Potential aspects of cooperation between Bangladesh and Meta in the field of information technology were also discussed at the meeting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. BSS</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>