Baku: Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus passed a busy day today, the opening day of the COP29 global climate summit, in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The head of Bangladesh’s interim government and the 2006 Nobel Peace laureate met at least 20 top leaders of countries across the globe and heads of international agencies, according to a message received here.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Chief Adviser met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish First Lady at the summit of world leaders at the COP29 venue. During their meeting, President Erdogan extended an invitation to Professor Yunus to visit Turkey and assured Bangladesh of all possible assistance in its efforts to carry out deep reforms and build a prosperous nation. In return, Professor Yunus invited the Turkish first couple to visit Bangladesh soon.
The Chief Adviser also held discussions with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahiyan, expressing gratitude for the UAE’s release of 57 Bangladeshi nationals
who were imprisoned for staging protests in solidarity with students in July.
In addition to these meetings, Professor Yunus engaged with Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan; Mohamed Muizzu, the President of the Maldives; Tshering Tobgay, the Prime Minister of Bhutan; and Ramchandra Paudel, the President of Nepal. He emphasized the importance of reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as a top platform for the region’s eight countries, highlighting that SAARC revival will be a key cornerstone of his foreign policy.
Among others, the Chief Adviser met with the Prime Minister of Belgium, President of Ghana, Prime Minister of Bosnia Herzegovina, President of Rwanda, Prime Minister of Albania, President of Montenegro, Prime Minister of Barbados, Vice Presidents of Brazil and Iran, President of FIFA, and Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).