The Secretary-General’s third and last day in Bangladesh started with an early-morning meeting with senior representatives of the parliamentary opposition. The leader of the opposition, former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, who is on a visit to China this week, had appointed a delegation of four senior party members to see the Secretary-General and to brief him about the opposition’s views. They expressed their keen interest in ensuring that this year’s parliamentary election will be conducted in a free and fair manner, and they expressed their full support for a possible UN role in coordination of and support for international observers in the election.

The last event in the Secretary-General’s programme was a ceremony to unveil the foundation stone for the International Mother Language Institute in Segunbagicha in the centre of Dhaka. Present at the ceremony was the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, the Minister of Education and other senior government officials. During his speech on this occasion, the Secretary-General affirmed his strong support for cultural pluralism and underscored the important role which mother language plays in the cultural identity of people all over the world.

From Segunbagicha, the Secretary-General and his entourage proceeded directly to Zia International Airport, where they were seen off by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, other senior government officials, and the UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh. The Secretary-General’s charter aircraft took off at 10:40 a.m. for the next destination on this trip, New Delhi.