The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, New York

Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has called for Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands as a pre-requisite to the solution of the Palestine question. "The cause of the Palestinian people is always close to Bangladesh's hearts", he said at a NAM Ministerial Meeting of the Commitee on Palestine held Wednesday in New York on the sidelines of the current UN General Assembly (UNGA) session.

Bangladesh is a member of the 10-person Ministerial Commitee. Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury said the result of Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands is a sovereign independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and it will bring peace to both the Palestinians and the Israelis and "calm to that sad and troubled part of the world."

He also called upon the Palestinian parties to cease their differences and come together to unite in their common aspirations. "All their friends expect this of them," he said.

The Foreign Adviser also called upon the UN to play a key role in ending the conflict

Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has said that Bangladesh supports inter-faith and inter-cultural understanding throughout the world. He stated this at a Ministerial Meeting on 'Alliance among Civilizations' held at the United Nations headquarters on Wednesday morning. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon was present on the occasion. "This is particularly because in our own country Bangladesh we have achieved through our own efforts a harmonious relationship between different religions," Dr. Iftekhar Chowdhury said. This year, Bangladesh delegation at the UN would table a resolution on a 'Culture of Peace' which he hoped would receive universal support

The Foreign Adviser further stated that Bangladesh would contribute to the results of the first ever forum on the 'Alliance of Civilizations' to be held in January in Madrid, Spain next year.