Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus said that his government was prepared to ensure a free, fair, and peaceful general election in the first half of February in Bangladesh as he had a meeting with United States special envoy Sergio Gor on Monday local time in New York.
鈥楾he election will be held in February. It will be free, fair, and peaceful. The country is fully prepared,鈥� he told the聽 special envoy for South and Central Asia and the US ambassador-designate to India.
Sergio Gor commended the chief adviser鈥檚 leadership and reiterated the United States鈥� willingness to support the country鈥檚 efforts.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including trade, South Asian regional cooperation, the revival of SAARC, the Rohingya crisis, and the proliferation of disinformation targeting Dhaka.
The chief adviser sought continued US support for more than one million Rohingya refugees currently residing in camps in Cox鈥檚 Bazar. In response, the US official said that the life-saving aide for the Rohingyas would continue.
Yunus noted that the interim government had intensified efforts to revive SAARC, which had not held a summit in over a decade.
He also expressed Bangladesh鈥檚 interest in joining ASEAN, stating that integration with Southeast Asian economies could significantly accelerate the country鈥檚 development.
Additionally, he emphasised the importance of strengthening economic ties with landlocked Nepal and Bhutan, as well as with India鈥檚 seven Northeastern states.
鈥榃e can accelerate our economic growth through closer regional cooperation,鈥� he said.
The chief adviser extended an invitation to Sergio Gor to visit Bangladesh at his earliest convenience.
Professor Yunus on Tuesday attended the inaugural session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York.
He was accompanied by power, energy and mineral resources adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan, foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain and law adviser Asif Nazrul.
Prior to the session, the chief adviser met Uruguayan foreign minister Mario Lubetkin and former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, who also served as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights from 2018 to 2022, said chief adviser鈥檚 deputy press secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder.
Earlier, Queen Mathilde of Belgium met Professor Yunus on the sidelines of an event at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday.
Former British prime minister Gordon Brown also called on Yunus as IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva met the Bangladesh chief adviser as well at the UN headquarters.
Meanwhile, Professor Yunus has expressed his deep condolences to the family of Bangladeshi-origin US police officer Didarul Islam, who was killed in a gunman鈥檚 attack in New York in July last.
He also handed over a crest to the family members of Didarul as a mark of respect to him when they met Professor Yunus at his hotel Monday night, NY local time.
Didarul鈥檚 father Mohammad Abdur Rab, mother Minara Begum, two sons Ayhan Islam and Azhan Islam, brother Kamrul Hasan, nephew Adian Hasan, sister Nadima Begum, and paternal uncle Ahmed Jamal Uddin were present at the meeting.
National Citizen Party member-secretary Akhter Hossen and first senior joint member secretary Tasnim Jara, who are accompanying the chief adviser on the US trip, were also present.
