The D-8 Secretariat dispatched a delegation to the 76^th UN General Assembly in New York to participate in the activities of the high-level week held in New York from 21 – 26 September 2021. The four members delegation; comprising the Director-I and Director-II of the D-8 Secretariat, participated in the General debates and some of the sidelines activities organized during this week such as the high level dialogue on Energy and the high  level meeting to commemorate  the 20^th Anniversary  of the  adoption of  the  Durban Declaration  and  Programme of  Action.  .

During their 4 days visit to New York from 21-24 September 2021, the D-8 Delegation attended the D-8 luncheon hosted by the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh H.E. Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen. The delegation held official meetings with top UN officials in UNDESA and UNEP to discuss plans for future cooperation in the areas of the digitalization of the economy and e- commerce with UNDESA, as well as climate change mitigation and green technology with UNEP.

Attending the General debate in the High-level week of the 76th UNGA, the D-8 delegation took notes of the priority areas of activities set forth by the UN Secretary-General H.E. Antonio Guterres, President of the UN General Assembly H.E. Abdulla Shahid and other Heads of the States/Heads of the Government. It is noticed that Covid-19 Pandemic, Vaccination & other recovery measures, sustainable development goals, food & nutrition, climate change & environment, data & technology, human rights are the priority areas in the statements of the leaders as well as the UN officials. The D-8 Secretariat will pay attention to such priorities in drafting its policies for cooperation among the D-8 Member States as well as in developing  its vision for future cooperation with UN bodies and other relevant organizations.

The delegation attended the D-8 luncheon hosted by the current chair Bangladesh at Millennium Hilton New York on 21 September 2021.  The Hon’ble Foreign Minister of Bangladesh H.E. Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen delivered welcoming remarks followed by brief statements by the Foreign Minister of Pakistan H.E. Shah Mahmood Qureshi and the Heads of Delegation of other D-8 member states.  Director-I of the Secretariat updated the esteemed presence on the progress of the D-8 activities and projects in various areas.

On 21st September 2021 Ms. Rasha Hamdy, Director-II of the D-8 Secretariat held an official meeting with Mr. Elliot, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development and Chief Economist, at his office in the UN premises. She was accompanied by the Programme Officer, Mr. Md Biplob Tarafder. During this pre-scheduled meeting, the two officials exchanged views about finding scope for closer cooperation in areas of digitalization of the economy, legislation for e-commerce, capacity-building measures and Cybercrimes.

Furthermore, Director-I and Director-II of the D-8 Secretariat paid a courtesy visit on 24 September to Mr. Jamil Ahmad, Director, Intergovernmental Affairs of the UN Environment Programme, at the latter’s office at UN premise. During the meeting, they have exchanged their views on strengthening cooperation in the areas of climate change mitigation measures, reducing pollution and increasing the use of clean energy.