UNGA delegation size ‘misrepresented’: Press Secretary

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has dismissed Transparency International Bangladesh’s (TIB) statement on the size of the interim government’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly, terming it “misleading.”

In a Facebook post on Friday evening, Alam said TIB had relied on “incorrect information” in claiming the delegation exceeded 100 members. He clarified that the actual figure was 62—slightly higher than last year’s 57.

Alam noted that about one-third of the delegates were security personnel, deployed to protect Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus and senior officials following threats from Awami League supporters. He added that many of them were working 16-hour shifts to ensure safety.

Describing the delegation as “smaller, more focused and effective” than those during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, Alam said members had already held bilateral meetings with more than six heads of state or government and at least a dozen high-level discussions.

While acknowledging questions about delegation size, he argued that Bangladesh’s participation this year was “especially significant,” given what he described as attempts to destabilize the country and distort the July Movement.

Alam further accused the Awami League and its allies of spreading misinformation and spending millions on lobbying efforts to undermine Bangladesh’s democratic transition, allegedly with support from “certain international quarters.”