Desk Report
Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, currently in Azerbaijan’s Baku for the COP29 climate change summit, has met several world leaders on the sidelines of the high-profile event.
On Wednesday, Yunus held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to the Chief Advisor’s Office.
President Erdoğan invited the Nobel laureate to visit Turkey. He assured Yunus of full support in advancing ongoing reforms and building a prosperous Bangladesh.
The chief advisor expressed his gratitude to President Sheikh Mohamed for the release of 57 Bangladeshis who were detained in the UAE for protesting in support of the quota reform movement in July.
Yunus also met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, and Nepalese President Ram Chandra Paudel.
The chief advisor called for efforts to revive the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC.
Among others whom Yunus met were Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, Bosnian President Denis Bećirović, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, Iranian Vice President Shina Ansari, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and Director-General of the International Organisation for Migration, or IOM, Amy Pope.
GRAND IMAM PRAISES YUNUS’S LEADERSHIP
Al-Azhar University Grand Imam Ahmed Eltayeb expressed hope that Bangladesh will thrive and progress under the leadership of Yunus.
During a meeting at a hotel in Baku on Tuesday morning, the Grand Imam invited the chief advisor to deliver a lecture at the university.
The Grand Imam said the university would announce a fully funded scholarship for Bangladeshi students.
“Under your [Muhammad Yunus’s] leadership, we are hopeful for Bangladesh’s future. You are a wise man. After the revolution, Bangladesh will reach new heights. I salute your wisdom and leadership,” said the Grand Imam.
Yunus thanked him for the invitation and extended an invitation for him to visit Bangladesh.
He urged the Grand Imam to witness the post-uprising developments firsthand.
As a token of appreciation, Yunus gifted him a collection of murals from Bangladesh’s July revolution, titled ‘The Art of Triumph’.
