Nation observes Int’l Day of UN Peacekeepers Tuesday

FT ONLINE

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers 2018 is being observed in a befitting manner in the country as elsewhere across the globe on Tuesday.

The theme for this year's International Day of UN Peacekeepers is "70 Years of Service and Sacrifice."

The day, 29 May, offers a chance to pay tribute to the contributions of uniformed and civilian personnel to the work of the organisation and to honour more than 3,700 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948, including 129 who died last year.

Different programmes have been taken to observe the day, according to Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR).

The day's programmes begin through holding 'Peace Keepers Run' in the morning where Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali attended as the chief guest.

In observance of the day, Armed Forces Division and the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Bangladesh will jointly organise a reception programme at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Dhaka in honour of the relatives of the fallen soldiers and injured Bangladeshi peacekeepers, paying due respect to them.

President Abdul Hamid is expected to attend the function as the chief guest while State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam will be present.

A special documentary on different activities of Bangladesh in the UN peacekeeping missions will be screened at the function.

State run television channels BTV and BTB World will air the programme live, according to UNB.

Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages on the eve of the day and greeted the members of the UN peacekeepers, as well as the Bangladeshi soldiers.