"People of Bangladesh have many reasons to feel positive about their future," Ban said in his remarks yesterday at the special meeting of the UN General Assembly to pay tribute to the memory of the late Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman, who died recently.
"Bangladesh is setting an example on building resilience and disaster preparedness. It is a leader on sustainable development and in seeing great progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals," he said.
The UN chief said that the south Asian country has long been a pioneer in micro-credit, and its economy is thriving.
"As a result, Bangladesh is on the track to graduate from the ranks of the least developed countries," Ban said.
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Noting that Bangladesh is also a leader in women's empowerment, Ban said that he is in particular proud of the efforts of the country's women police officers, who are serving with UN peacekeeping missions.
At the same time, Bangladesh continues to face serious challenges, he said.
"Population growth, inequality, rising food and energy prices and the need to create decent jobs for young people, will all continue to test the country. So too will the challenges of democracy, reconciliation, healing and justice related to the struggle for independence," Ban said.