Statement by H.E. Dr. AK Abdul Momen MP, Hon’ble Foreign Minister of Bangladesh

Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Presidency Handover Ceremony

Statement by H.E. Dr. AK Abdul Momen MP

Hon’ble Foreign Minister of Bangladesh

25 May 2022

Hon’ble President,

Hon’ble Prime Minister,

Distingushed colleagues,

As salamu Alaikum. Peace be upon you.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the CVF Presidency Handover Ceremony. We are grateful for the kind presence of the Hon’ble President of Ghana and the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the passing of the baton.

I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the memories of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and of Ghana’s founding father and independence hero President Kwame Nkrumah. Our two nations carry forward their legacies for achieving the political and economic emancipation of our peoples in societies free from colonial subjugation and exploitation.

In 2019, when approached by the President of Marshall Islands, our Hon’ble Prime Minister readily accepted to carry the CVF torch for the next two years. This has been the second time that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over CVF during her three consecutive terms in office.

CVF was still at a nascent stage during the first term of Bangladesh’s Presidency. It was critical to nurture it at the time so that it could gain a sure footing in the map of international climate discussions. This time, we transfer the CVF Presidency with the confidence that it has become a mature forum in its own right with a unique moral and advocacy voice that the world must reckon with.

During our second term, we had to defy the COVID-19 pandemic to sustain the momentum of CVF’s work. It is certainly encouraging to see how much we actually achieved during the last two and a half years. There will be a detailed presentation on those issues, which I refrain from elaborating here. Let it suffice to say that Bangladesh made the best possible efforts to uphold CVF priorities and demands within the UNFCCC process and further beyond. On the other hand, the CVF Presidency bolstered the importance we attach to our own climate diplomacy.

As we go through the Presidency report, I am reminded of the series of Regional Dialogues that were held to reach towards the Dhaka-Glasgow Declaration adopted during COP26 in November 2021. Just last week, I signed off 85 letters to our development partners seeking support for the CVF-V20 Joint Multi-Donor Fund. Our visible, impact-driven work led to enhancing the CVF membership from 48 to 55.

In parallel, we operated the regional office of the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) to help disseminate Bangladesh’s experience as a hub for climate adaptation. We hosted in Dhaka the US President’s Special Envoy on Climate Change and the COP26 President-designate, among other foreign dignitaries.

Going forward, Bangladesh will continue to champion the CVF agenda on containing the global temperature rise to 1.5°C; on tangible delivery of the Paris Agreement commitments on financing and technology; on 50:50 financing between climate mitigation and adaptation; and, on additional financing mechanisms for loss and damage. We shall remain a lead proponent for addressing the plights of ‘climate migrants’ – the millions who get displaced due to sea level rise, floods, river erosion and droughts.

I am personally grateful to my fellow Cabinet and Parliamentary colleagues, our Thematic Ambassador on vulnerability Ms. Saima Wazed Hossain, our Prime Minister’s CVF Special Envoy, my colleagues at the Ministry and Bangladesh Missions abroad, and of course the able support teams at the CVF and GCA Secretariats for their unstinting cooperation in making the Bangladesh Presidency successful.

We all remain beholden to our Hon’ble Prime Minister for her visionary leadership and guidance and her kind availability for any engagements related to CVF and climate action.

We owe it to Hon’ble President Akufo-Addo for Ghana’s gracious acceptance of the CVF Presidency. Our diplomatic apparatus remains at the disposal of the Ghanaian Presidency during their upcoming tenure.

I thank you all.

Joi Bangla, Joi Bangabandhu

May Bangladesh-Ghana friendship live forever!

STATEMENT BY H.E. DR. AK ABDUL MOMEN MP, HON’BLE FOREIGN MINISTER OF BANGLADESH