The Honorable Timothy Wirth,
My esteemed friend Professor Yunus,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening and Assalamualaikum.

We Bangladeshis by our very nature love welcoming guests and friends. Having a guest is an honour and fills our heart with pleasure and happiness. This is how we feel tonight as we welcome the Board members and their colleagues in the UN Foundation. We are truly honoured by your visit to our country.

Senator Wirth, Professor Yunus,

You are all well known celebrities in your own right. But we adore and admire you most for the goodness in you in reaching out to humankind to make this world a better place to live in.

Ours is a beautiful a land with beautiful people. Our life has been nurtured by our surroundings, the lush green fields, the simmering rivers and lakes of the high monsoon, the enchanting lyrics of the rural minstrel and poetry of Nazrul and Tagore. Like all people of the world, we too hope and aspire for a better world. We too have a vision of bringing our people out of poverty and showing them a path that will take them a better life and to the doorsteps of prosperity. What we need is a helping hand in our efforts at struggling out of the quagmire of poverty. Institutions such as the United Nations Foundation could be that hand.

Your Organization is committed to working for a better world. We are happy that you have come to our country to help us build it. Dr. Yunus' experiment with micro-credit kindled a flicker of hope in the poorest of the poor. That flicker has now become a beam that has reached every corner of our country. The hopeless have begun to see hope and frustration is giving way to trust. The face of Bangladesh is changing. A better world is no longer an illusion. With our efforts and your generosity, it will be doubly possible.

Distinguished Guests,

The United Nations over the past sixty years despite all its imperfections has been the only organization that can be relied upon to reach the goal we seek. UN aims at building a better world through promotion of understanding and cooperation between and among peoples and nations. One of its primary objectives is " to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom". Starting with "We the peoples of the United Nations….", the UN Charter envisions an organization that builds on the synergies of peoples of various faiths, culture and creed. The task before the UN is huge and it needs active support of not only the Member States but also of the NGOs, think tanks, philanthropic organizations and others.

Bangladesh has an abiding commitment to the UN. Bangladesh has always played an active and supportive role in the activities of the world body. It is contributing to UN's efforts in promoting a peaceful and prosperous world. Our troops have participated in peace keeping operations around the globe and Bangladesh is today the largest troop contributor to UN peace keeping operations.

I am glad that the UN Foundation is focusing its assistance programs in key areas like child health, environment, women and population and peace, security and human rights. It's initiatives, I am sure, would help nations, particularly the developing countries face challenges in these critical areas.

I am indeed happy that the UN Foundation is already involved in some environment and social sector projects in Bangladesh. I am sure there will be more intensive involvement of the Foundation in Bangladesh as well as in other developing countries in the days ahead.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

While we appreciate the contributions of the UN Foundation in strengthening the activities of the United Nations in various fields, I would urge the world's business leaders, politicians and philanthropists to follow its example and support the UN which is the only universal body capable of dealing with global issues.

I wish the distinguished members of the Board of Directors of the UN Foundation a very enjoyable and fruitful stay in Bangladesh.

I thank you.