Diplomats representing 27 countries of European Union—20 of them stationed in New Delhi and the rest seven in Dhaka—are set to meet interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus today at his Tejagaon office in Dhaka.Â
The government was expecting envoys from all these 27 countries along with ambassador and head of delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Michael Miller to join the meeting with Muhammad Yunus at his office, the press wing of the Chief Adviser Office confirmed on Sunday.
This will be the first such gathering from the European Union to express their support for Bangladesh and explore new areas and ways for further cooperation with the government at a time when the country is going through a transition after the fall of the authoritarian regime of Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5.
Foreign ministry officials engaged in the preparations for the meeting said that it was an opportunity for Bangladesh to explore more areas of cooperation, including trade and climate issues, with the European Union nations. Â
‘Both sides will explore new areas of cooperation in the meeting besides discussion on the Rohingya crisis, climate issues, GSP+ facilities for Bangladesh in the post-LDC era,’ said foreign ministry spokesperson and director general for public diplomacy wing Mohammad Rafiqul Alam at the weekly briefing at his Segunbagicha office on Thursday while disclosing the date for the crucial meeting.
Earlier on November 17, chief adviser Muhammad Yunus said that 27 ambassadors of all the European Union countries would meet him in the next few days without giving any date.
‘Twenty ambassadors from 20 European Union countries based in Delhi along with seven ambassadors from seven countries based in Dhaka are coming to Dhaka in the next few days to meet me,’ Yunus said in his televised address to the nation marking 100 days of the government on that day.
Three days after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, Nobel laureate Yunus took over as the chief adviser of the interim government on August 8.
‘Never before did 27 ambassadors from the EU come together to discuss with the government,’ the chief adviser said.
The reason for this gathering was to express the EU support and to develop high-level cooperation in the economic field, he said, adding that ambassadors from many countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, Finland, Singapore, and Libya, had already met him after the political changeover.