URU, Alm.del - 2012-13 - Bilag 23: Invitation til felttur med FN den 21.

Copenhagen, October 25, 2012Dear Chairman,On behalf of the United Nations system in the Nordic countries, we are pleased to invite members of theForeign Affairs Committee in each of the five Nordic countries on a field visit to Bangladesh January 21-26, 2013.The visit will allow members to view UN programme support to Bangladesh at first hand and get a senseof the tremendous development progress the country has experienced in recent years. In 2010,Bangladesh was ranked third out of 95 countries for the greatest progress achieved and for havingdoubled its Human Development Index since 1980. A development achievement that deserves attentionand that shows it is possible to overcome poverty and hunger through joint effort.The UN has previously organized successful field visits for Nordic parliamentarians to increaseknowledge of, and interest in, the UN system and its work in developing countries. Country visits haveincluded Zambia (2004), Malawi (2006), Mozambique (2007), Nicaragua (2008), Liberia (2009), Nepal(2011) and Burkina Faso (2012). In each case, we received positive feedback from participants on theusefulness and value of these visits.Despite considerable progress challenges remain, and Bangladesh is one of the world’s most denselypopulated, disaster-prone and climate-vulnerable countries. The programme will include field visits to anumber of UN projects and programmes and provide an opportunity to see first-hand how the UN isassisting the government of Bangladesh in mitigating its challenges and building up sustainableresilience in areas of disaster management, early warning systems, disaster risk reduction, genderequality and women’s participation, urban and rural poverty reduction, human rights advocacy andlegislative support, food security and sexual and reproductive health.Please let us know if any Committee members are interested in participating in the field visit toBangladesh and kindly let us know by no later than November 14, 2012. It will be useful if you canforward a list of names including possible alternate participants.Please do not hesitate to contact us in case you have any questions. UNDP/Mette Fjalland, +45 35467155, [email protected], or UNFPA/Pernille Fenger, +45 3546 7033, [email protected]We are looking forward to hearing from you.Yours sincerely,