{"id":70799,"date":"2025-11-20T16:38:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T10:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deshmediabd.com\/?p=70799"},"modified":"2025-11-20T16:38:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T10:38:39","slug":"commonwealth-secretary-general-shirley-botchwey-begins-official-visit-to-bangladesh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/?p=70799","title":{"rendered":"Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey Begins Official Visit to Bangladesh"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"95\" data-end=\"209\"><strong data-start=\"185\" data-end=\"207\">national Desk<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"211\" data-end=\"496\">Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey commenced her first official visit to Bangladesh on Wednesday to discuss areas of mutual interest, including strengthening engagement to support the people\u2019s aspirations for peace, stability, democracy, good governance, and prosperity.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"498\" data-end=\"846\">Botchwey arrived in Dhaka for a five-day visit from 20\u201324 November. During her stay, she is scheduled to meet key figures in the interim government, including Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, political party leaders, the Chief Election Commissioner, high commissioners, and other representatives, according to the Commonwealth Secretariat.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"848\" data-end=\"1028\">Her visit comes ahead of Bangladesh\u2019s general elections, expected in February 2026, and at what the Secretariat described as \u201ca pivotal moment in the country\u2019s national journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1030\" data-end=\"1308\">During her meetings, the Secretary-General will brief stakeholders on the Commonwealth\u2019s new Strategic Plan, which identifies democracy as one of its three core pillars. She will also seek guidance on how tailored Commonwealth support can best assist the people of Bangladesh.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1310\" data-end=\"1658\">Ahead of her visit, Botchwey described Bangladesh as \u201ca valued member of the Commonwealth,\u201d noting that the country joined the organisation shortly after gaining independence. She highlighted the longstanding partnership between Bangladesh and the Commonwealth, stressing its continued relevance as the nation prepares for the upcoming elections.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1660\" data-end=\"1903\">In line with the Commonwealth Charter, Botchwey stated she would engage with a wide range of stakeholders \u201cto understand the context first-hand and explore where we can offer informed support in the spirit of partnership and mutual respect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1905\" data-end=\"2310\">She added, \u201cOur shared commitment with Bangladesh remains supporting a peaceful, inclusive, and participatory environment, where the rights and fundamental freedoms of every citizen are respected. That is what the people of Bangladesh rightly expect from us. They can continue to count on the Commonwealth as a trusted partner in their efforts to build a just, inclusive, and prosperous future for all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2312\" data-end=\"2530\">The Secretary-General also extended her best wishes to the people of Bangladesh as they prepare to exercise their democratic rights and reaffirmed the Commonwealth\u2019s full support for the country\u2019s democratic process.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2532\" data-end=\"2688\">The Bangladesh High Commission in London stated that the visit is expected to further strengthen the relationship between Bangladesh and the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>national Desk Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey commenced her first official visit to Bangladesh on Wednesday to discuss areas of mutual interest, including strengthening engagement to support the people\u2019s aspirations for peace, stability, democracy, good governance, and prosperity. Botchwey arrived in Dhaka for a five-day visit from 20\u201324 November. During her stay, she is scheduled to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":70800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-44"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70799"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70801,"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70799\/revisions\/70801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/70800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhakatidings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}