New York, September 27:
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Professor Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to Bangladesh, in New York. The two leaders met to further political and economic ties between their countries that would last for the foreseeable future.
On X, the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared photos of Blinken and Yunus with the caption, "Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and US State Department Secretary Antony Blinken had fruitful discussions on advancing Bangladesh-USA ties, deepening long-term economic-political engagements in shared interests."
Yunus also had a meeting with HSBC Global CEO Noel Quinn to talk about the bank's new initiatives in energy, trade finance, and startups in Bangladesh.
Noel Quinn, CEO of HSBC Global, and Yunus had a fruitful discussion to discuss potential areas of increased cooperation in Bangladesh.
Yunus said on X, "HSBC Global CEO Noel Quinn met with Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in New York to discuss the bank's increased involvement in energy, trade financing, and startups in Bangladesh." At a high-level conference earlier on Tuesday, Yunus demanded that Rohingyas return home due to the "deteriorating" security situation in Bangladesh.
While acknowledging Bangladesh's compassion in hosting the Rohingyas, Yunus brought attention to the enormous social, economic, and environmental costs of this situation during the high-level United Nations event in New York on the Rohingya crisis. The presence of more than 1.2 million displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar has been a major challenge for Bangladesh. He stressed that Bangladesh has hit rock bottom and that returning home is the only long-term option for dealing with the situation.
Sheikh Hasina resigned from her position on August 5 in response to growing protests in Bangladesh, and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus assumed leadership of the state's interim administration. Students wanting the government's quota system for jobs to be eliminated were the main demonstrators.
In order to facilitate the establishment of an interim administration, President Mohammed Shahabuddin declared the dissolution of the country's parliament the day following Sheikh Hasina's resignation and departure from the country.
The country's parliament was dissolved and Yunus was sworn in as the leader of an interim government on August 8, following Sheikh Hasina's departure.
As chairman of the interim administration, Muhammad Yunus is making his first official visit to the United States. Younus is scheduled to attend a number of high-profile meetings during the UNGA, according to the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From September 27th to the 29th, the chief advisor of Bangaldesh will be speaking during the UNGA general debate.
