SG: Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen of the media. It is a great pleasure to see you, and thank you very much for your participation. Assalamualaikum.

I would like to say what a pleasure and privilege and honor for me to [visit] Bangladesh, this time as Secretary General of United Nations.

Before I begin, let me express my deepest thanks to the government and people of Bangladesh for their warm welcome and hospitality extended to me and to my delegation. I was overwhelmed and very much impressed by such warm hospitality. And I was very much shocked and impressed by all the changes and achievements you have realized during last few decades. My last visit was in 1975. During that time, right after your independence, I had the opportunity of visiting your country to discuss bilateral matters between Korea and Bangladesh. It is now 33 years after. During 3 decades, you have achieved and you have made a sea change in socioeconomics and democracy. And I commend for that.

In particular, I would like to express my honest appreciation and thanks to many, many people who have already been greeting me, and welcoming me, and sending their best wishes to me, along all the streets and at the villages where I have visited today. Now, because of all practical reasons which you may understand, I was not able to meet them in person, all of them, and express my sincere gratitude. I hope you can convey my warmest thanks to all of them. And I am very much impressed by them.

Now I have seen for myself the resilience and resourcefulness of Bangladesh and its people.

The evidence is all around: innovative micro-credit programs for development. The way government authorities and UN specialists have worked together to deal with flooding and natural disasters along the Jamuna river. Your success in balancing economic growth and poverty-reduction. Your success with family planning, getting girls into schools and reducing child mortality.

Earlier today, I had a chance to visit the Grameen Bank Projects, where I was extremely moved by the tremendous efforts by the people of Bangladesh to attain self-sustainability. Particularly, I had a very good exchange with women of Bangladesh working towards self-empowerment. What I have witnessed today will certainly set an example for the rest of the developing countries. This kind of determination will help Bangladesh become a middle-income country in ten years' time. Visiting the Project also gave me a stronger resolve to work harder towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. I also can see hope and enormous potential for positive social change.

I am concerned, however, about the effect of world events on Bangladesh. Rising food prices could affect growth and living standards. The global financial crisis threatens the world's most vulnerable people, many of them in Southeast Asia.

That is why I have called, loud and clear, on the industrialized countries to honor their commitments to the UN's Millennium Development Goals. I promise to you that I will push hard this month at the G-20 Summit Meeting which will be held in Washington, and at the Financing for Development Conference, which will be held later this month in Doha, Qatar.

Times of global crisis demand global solidarity. We cannot allow the financial crisis to turn into a prolonged human crisis.

For the same reason, we cannot allow the financial crisis to impede our efforts to fight climate change.

A one-meter rise in sea levels would displace 30 million Bangladeshis and deal a catastrophic blow to economic growth and development here.

I know I need not tell you this. That is why Bangladesh has been at the forefront of disaster prevention and preparedness efforts.

Also during this visit, I had the opportunity to visit the Comprehensive Disaster Management Project of Baghbati Union in Sirajganj to see first hand the impact and day-to-day reality of the issue.

I was especially gratified to hear directly from the Bangladeshi people about their concerns and aspirations. Most of all, I was greatly encouraged by the way they are taking the problem into their own hands, and working with the Government, donors and the United Nations to do something about it.

Bangladesh is an example to the world community on how a vulnerable developing country can strengthen its resilience against recurrent catastrophic events. Your best practices and lessons learned can help your country and others in the region prone to natural disasters.

This visit has left a strong impression on me –an impression that I will take back to UN Headquarters and address.

These are the themes I stressed in my meetings during my short but productive visit. I had very quick, good meetings with the President, Chief Advisor, military leadership and other senior government officials and political party leaders.

I expressed my deep gratitude for Bangladesh's tremendous contribution to UN peacekeeping efforts around the world.

Bangladesh is the second-largest contributor of personnel to UN peacekeeping operations, with more than 9,000 troops and police officers serving in our peacekeeping missions. Not only are you building your own country, but you are contributing to peace and better lives everywhere you go.

For Bangladesh, much depends on good governance. Perhaps never before has it been so important for the nation's diverse people and political leaders to pull together ? to fight corruption, to uphold the rule of law, to respect institutional checks and balances and to promote democracy.

This was my message to all I met: government authorities, political parties, civil society leaders and ordinary citizens. I saw clearly that democracy belongs in Bangladesh; there are no insurmountable obstacles to ushering in a better, brighter, more sustainable democracy after the elections in December.

The UN stands ready to help. As a friend of Bangladesh, I have an obligation to speak frankly and, I hope, lend my advice and personal assistance in any way that I can.

I have informed the Government authorities and the political parties that the UN will dispatch a small team of highly capable and prominent individuals, who will visit in the coming weeks to assess the conduct of the election and report to me.

It is in the world's ? and your ? best interest to see Bangladesh achieve its full potential for democratic development through free and credible elections.

The December ballot is a historic opportunity. Now is the moment to stand against the polarization and violence that have characterized past elections.

What is needed now is to put the larger interests of the nation above other interests. The incoming government will need to reach out to the opposition in Parliament. The opposition must engage constructively with the new government to consolidate the reforms begun by the current caretaker government?particularly those dedicated to fighting corruption.

For its part, the government must ensure that the fundamental rights and freedoms necessary for a free, fair and credible election are guaranteed. And it must ensure that the elections take place in a peaceful and secure environment.

Thank you very much for your attention. I will be happy to answer your questions.

Q: Mr. Secretary. My name is Shamim Ahmed. I represent United News of Bangladesh, News Agency. You have just had meetings with the two political parties, and we have learnt that they have strong reservation and concern about the election under the state of emergency. They apprehend that the election and the results will be manipulated under the state of emergency. What's the UN position? And you had also meeting with the military leaders. What did you learn from them about the election? Did you give any advice as you have given the general 22nd elections in two lectures. Thank you very much.

SG: During my meetings with the political leaders of the two political parties, BNP and Awami League, I have stressed the importance, very historic importance, of this election which will build very important momentum for Bangladesh and the people to fuller democracy, and I stress the importance of this election being conducted in a fair and credible and competitive and transparent manner. And I have also urged that the political party leaders, political leaders of this country, should bear responsibilities for the future of their country through fair competition based on democratic rules. That means they have to contest themselves. And well there is a result ? by the people that they first of all respect the result and fully cooperate between and among the political parties. Those are the basic responsibilities required for Bangladesh at this time.

I was assured by Care-taker Government also that they will do their utmost, [make their] best efforts to ensure a fair and credible and free election. And they will try to ensure the atmosphere and security and everything so that this will be a very credible election. And I am encouraged by such commitments by the highest authorities of the Care-taker government.

My meeting with the military leadership, Army Chief of Staff General, was basically concentrated on how we can have a further strengthened partnership between Bangladesh and the United Nations, particularly in the area of peacekeeping operations. I expressed my sincere appreciation for their contribution and expressed my desire that Bangladesh could even do more by dispatching more peacekeepers. And I was assured again a very positive response from the military leadership.

And there was a brief discussion on the forthcoming election, and again I was assured by the military leadership that they will ensure that this forthcoming election will be fair and credible and free. They will not intervene in any political process. This is what I was assured from the military leadership.

Q: I am Shahbuddin Ahmed. I work for Reuters. I am wondering what's the UN plan to mitigate the problems of the countries which will be affected by the global warming and rising of seas.

SG: This is serious concern I have expressed, from the beginning of this global financial crisis. As I said, I have been making very clear, loud statements and positions as the Secretary General of the United Nations, reflecting the wishes and concerns and challenges of many developing countries. I would welcome initiatives and measures to address the crisis. At the same time, I have urged the leaders of the developed countries not to lose sight of the challenges of many developing countries which do not have the capacity to address these issues. They must be insulated from this crisis. They major UN goals should not be affected negatively.

It would be those poorest of the poor who will be hit first and the hardest. They have no capacity to address this issue. Therefore, my role as the Secretary-General of the United Nations will be the voice and the defender of the defenseless people. And you have my firm commitment and, as I said, I'll speak in the two forthcoming important meetings, the G-20 Summit and the Doha Conference.

Q: Mr Secretary General, this is Akbar Hossain, I am representing the BBC World Service in Dhaka. Basically back to Bangladesh's politics. We hope you have seen that the state of emergency was imposed in the country and the United Nations gladly backed that. But the normal practice in other parts of the world, normally the United Nations doesn't recognize military interventions or any sort of, military activities in no democratic process, but in Bangladesh it is different. Still it's almost two years state of emergency is going on and many people think that there will be an election under state of emergency. So what is it that United Nations' position if the election be held at all under the state of emergency?

Another very small question, there are rights group here, who have long been demanding the trial of war criminals and they have the issue in the United Nations, as what they claim. So is the United Nations interested at all to facilitate the Bangladesh's government to set up a special tribunal to hold our war criminals under trial? Thank you.

SG: For your first question, I am well aware of the concerns and demands by major stakeholders demanding the lifting of the state of emergency before this election is held. As a matter of principle, the elections should be held in an atmosphere where people should be free to express their will without the fear of intimidation. They should be free to assemble and free to move. This is the basic principle of democracy. I have discussed this matter with the Care-taker government authorities and also political party leaders and I have urged them to resolve this issue through dialogue between government authorities and the political party leaders. This is a Bangladesh-driven process. This is an election being held by Bangladesh, and this is an election of the Bangladeshi people. Therefore, I would hope that this will be resolved through dialogue between the authorities and the political party leaders.

And there is the second question - about establishing a special tribunal for war criminals. There needs to be, first of all, the official position of Bangladesh Government. Then, if there is an official request from the Bangladesh government, then it should be decided, determined by the United Nations through proper procedures. But before any such official request is made, I am not in a position to say anything on this issue.

Q: I have a question sir. Welcome to Dhaka, I am from your home district New York. I represent Daily Ittefaq. I have a question to you. You have suggested none but election can solve or can stop this democracy in Bangladesh, even though it is a democratic country. What prompts you saying so where we are enjoying the democracy? What contribution the UN can put for the cause of the fully and fair election in Bangladesh?

SG: I think I have answered [this] already. If I may repeat it again, I know that you have full aspiration to take your country towards fuller democracy and that is why I am emphasizing the importance of this election in December. I was assured by the government that they will put their best effort to make this election most credible and fair, in an objective and transparent manner. You have made a very remarkable system, introduced through this voter photo list, for 80 million voters. This is a remarkable system which I would like to commend. This is a power of ensuring this transparency, and fair and objective elections. The United Nations, as I said, will dispatch highly capable persons to assess this election and we are ready to provide all necessary technical assistance.

Thank you very much.