New York, 27 March 2024 (TDI): The Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden landed in Dhaka to visit Bangladesh as the goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The reason behind the visit of the Swedish Crown Princess is to learn about the development journey of Bangladesh and assess the progress and challenges in implementing the SGDs.
This would be carried out with a particular focus on climate, gender equality, the green and digital transition, and the role of the business sector.
“This is my second visit to Bangladesh, but my first as a goodwill ambassador for UNDP. I hope that our visit has further strengthened UNDP’s, Sweden’s, and Bangladesh’s joint efforts in accelerating the work on the Sustainable Development Goals,” reported the Swedish Crown Princess.
Over her four-day mission, the Swedish Crown Princess spent two days in Southern Bangladesh. During this period, she connected with local communities and observed firsthand the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Swedish Crown Princess witnessed the catastrophic impact of climate change and observed the climate adaptation initiatives promoted by the UNDP, the Government of Bangladesh, and development partners like Sweden.
These efforts allow to solidify resilience for coastal communities and people internally displaced by floods, cyclones, and rising sea levels.
Moreover, in the small subdistrict of Koyra in southwest Bangladesh, the Swedish Crown Princess launched Bangladesh’s first Smart Posts Centre. The initiation underlined the impact of inclusive digital development on alleviating poverty and providing important public services to rural communities throughout the country.
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Growth and challenges
Ulrika Modeer, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of External Relations and Advocacy at UNDP, reported that “Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in economic and human development in recent decades, achieving reductions in extreme poverty, strengthening women’s rights and making significant progress in climate adaptation, disaster risk management, and inclusive digitalization.”
However, despite this, with the country being most susceptible to natural disasters and climate change, it still experiences multiple development challenges.
Ulrika Modeer also reported that the visit of the Swedish Crown Princess sheds emphasis on the opportunity to underline Bangladesh’s advancements and the challenges that persist in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.
It also highlights the significance of taking on a systemic approach to address difficult development challenges, such as climate change and the Rohingya crisis, Modeer reported.
The Swedish Crown Princess also visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Bhasan Char and Cox’s Bazar, which houses over a million Rohingya refugees. Over there, she was able to witness in depth the challenges that the refugees experience.
The Swedish Crown Princess was also able to get an insight into the challenges that the refugees experience and the efforts by the UN and the Government of Bangladesh to meet their instant needs all the while planning for the extended implications of the Rohingya crisis.
Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell reported, “During the visit, we saw impressive examples of Bangladesh pioneering, smart adaptation and resilience building.”
He also went on to report that, “We will continue to develop our cooperation to demonstrate the value of multilateralism in addressing our common global challenges and delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals.”
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