Diplomatic Correspondent :
A formal meeting between Chief Adviser to the Interim government Prof Muhammad Yunus and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be held in Bangkok on Friday.
Before holding the formal meeting, both leaders on Thursday sat side by side at the table to attend an official dinner for BIMSTEC leaders hosted by Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra at the Grand Ballroom of Shangri-La Hotel.
Prior to it, Prof Yunus reached the capital of Thailand in a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines on Thursday afternoon to attend the BIMSTEC Summit scheduled to be held on April 4. Dr. Yunus was welcomed by Thai Minister in Attendance Jiraporn Sindhuprai at the Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Prior to the Summit, this will be the first meeting of its kind since the Interim Government took charge following last year’s massive uprising that toppled the Awami League government and ousted Sheikh Hasina, who has been in exile in Delhi ever since.
After taking office, Yunus wanted to meet Indian premier Narendra Modi at the UNGA in New York in September, but it has not happened. Due to the fall of Awami League, a much favoured party for India, the relation between Dhaka-Delhi started freezing.
Now a Dhaka source said that the meeting is expected to thaw the bilateral relation of the two neighbours.
Though the Interim Government previously send official request to the Indian side to the arrangement of such meeting, Bangladesh was not getting any green signal.
At the eleventh hour it received a signal for the formal meeting, when Yunus returned from Beijing after holding a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping.
Meanwhile, Dr Yunus arrived in Bangkok on Thursday afternoon to attend the 6th Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit.
On the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit, Dr. Yunus will hold several meetings with BIMSTEC leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Bangladesh considers this year’s BIMSTEC Summit highly significant, as the country will assume the chairmanship of the organization for the next two years.
This Summit is expected to be an opportunity to uphold a just and inclusive Bangladesh in this region.
After reaching Bangkok, Dr Yunus delivered a keynote speech at the BIMSTEC Young Gen Forum in a bid to inspire the young entrepreneurs, stating that ‘to change the country, we must change the way we govern.’
Yunus emphasised that the same rules cannot be followed indefinitely, and if a country wants to progress, its governance methods must evolve.
He highlighted the vital role of youth in driving this change and stressed the need for innovation and transformation in leadership.
Expressing condolences over the loss of lives in Myanmar and Thailand due to a recent earthquake, he said, “This tragedy highlights the limitations of our ability to protect people.
We still lack the knowledge to predict such natural disasters in advance. There is a long way to go in understanding nature and ensuring human safety. Bangladesh, too, is at risk of earthquakes, though fortunately, we have not yet faced such a catastrophe.”
Dr. Yunus also underscored the importance of socially responsible business practices beyond profit-making.
“We must work towards social change, balance wealth distribution, and consider environmental sustainability. Bangladesh is a vast country, but I prefer to operate within a smaller scope, focusing on meaningful impact,” he said.
Addressing poverty and financial inclusion, he stated, “Poor people need jobs, not just money. But many argued that money is more important than employment. I insisted that access to credit is a fundamental human right. People questioned how loans relate to human rights, but I believed that obtaining credit for shelter and livelihood is essential for a dignified life.”
He also said a society collapses sooner or later if wealth and power concentration happens in it.
“Unless wealth is shared, you cannot sustain a society,” he added.
“You cannot create the world with the same system. If you want to change the world, you have to change the system,” he said.
