Diplomatic Correspondent :
Ignoring the letter from 12 US senators regarding the conviction of Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the Foreign Ministry has affirmed that this issue will not impact the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country.
Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Thursday made the remark while addressing reporters at his ministry after holding two separate meetings with the French Ambassador to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy and German Ambassador Achim Troster.
He asserted that the advocacy for Dr. Yunus was orchestrated by “lobbyist firms” and emphasised that it would not impact the influx of foreign investment. “Several lobbying firms are behind individuals to talk on the Dr. Yunus issue. Investment will remain unaffected if a statement is supported by lobbyists,” he said.
The foreign minister mentioned that Dr. Yunus has been a topic of discussion for the past 12 years, and despite this, Bangladesh has continued to attract substantial foreign investment.
“It’s a legal issue. The government is not a party here. It’s the court verdict. The government cannot interfere in court’s decision,” the foreign minister said.
He said that the aggrieved people filed the suit against Dr Yunus for violation of the labour laws.
Previously, a Dhaka court handed down a six-month jail sentence, along with a fine of Tk25,000 each, to Dr. Yunus and three high-ranking officials of Grameen Telecom in a case related to violation of the labor law.
Meanwhile, in a letter on Tuesday a dozen of US senators urged the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to end the persistent harassment of Prof Yunus.
“We write urging you to end to the persistent harassment of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and the pattern of abusing laws and the justice system to target critics of the government more broadly,” they said.
Regarding the meeting with the ambassadors, Hasan Mahmud said that Bangladesh would purchase Airbus from France when the economy will permit.
Asked about the purchase of Bangabandhu satellite-2 from France, he said, an agreement regarding second satellite was signed during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Bangladesh.
However, Bangladesh has not yet reached a final agreement on this matter, the minister said.
“Satellite-2 is our priority, especially in terms of sending weather updates and ensuring security. The MOU for this was signed in September.
Our selection process was involved, and the work on this will certainly be expedited,” he said.
Regarding the meeting with the ambassadors, the Foreign Minister stated that that France and Germany are significant development partners for Bangladesh.
Among the countries that have consistently supported Bangladesh since independence, these two countries stand out, the minister said.
“Germany is Bangladesh’s second-largest export market, and France, particularly in the field of ready-made garment exports, holds a prominent position in our export trade,” he said.
“We have discussed increasing the trade basket for deepening relations with the government,” said the Foreign Minister.
The minister said that both the ambassadors came to hand over congratulatory letter to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the formation of the government.
Asked about whether they had talked about the recently concluded election, he said, “They did not raise the issue.”
Foreign minister also expressed gratitude to Germany as the country took many war children and orphans from Bangladesh as refugees after liberation war.
Regarding the meeting, Achim Troster in a tweet said, “We covered a large range of areas of common interest like renewable energy, technology transfer and investments. Looking forward to deepening our longstanding cooperation!”
