UN under-secretary-general for the department of peace operations Jean Pierre Lacroix is scheduled to visit Bangladesh on 25-26 June.

He is visiting Bangladesh at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNB quoted officials as saying.

The UN official will join a preparatory discussion of the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Meeting (UNPKM) during his stay in Dhaka.

The UNPKM is an important opportunity for member states to come together in a collective effort to strengthen the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations and their impact on the communities they serve, according to UN.

In 2023, the UNPKM will be hosted by Ghana in Accra on 5-6 December.

It is the latest in a series of meetings held at the head of state, government, or ministerial level since 2014, including in Seoul in 2021.

The discussions will focus on concrete measures to improve operations in line with ongoing reform through action for peacekeeping, A4P+ and the digital transformation strategy.

With missions facing greater challenges than ever, the UNPKM will focus on protection of civilians, strategic communications (including addressing disinformation and hate speech), safety and security, mental health of the peacekeepers, and women in peacekeeping as outlined in the concept note.

Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping operations.

Bangladesh first deployed uniformed personnel to serve with the organisation in 1988 when they were deployed to help monitor the armistice between Iran and Iraq.

Over the past three decades, the contributions of Bangladeshi men and women in countries in which they were deployed have been immense, according to UN.

Meanwhile, UN under-secretary-general for management strategy, policy and compliance Catherine Pollard has arrived in Dhaka on Friday.

Resident representative of UNDP Bangladesh Stefan Liller welcomed her on behalf of the UN office in Bangladesh.

These two top UN officials are scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the visit.