Chief Advisor Yunus arrives in London for four-day visit

Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government, has arrived in London on a four-day official visit. He arrived at London’s Heathrow International Airport on an Emirates Airlines flight at 7:05 am local time on Tuesday (June 10). The matter was confirmed by the chief advisor’s deputy press secretary, Abul Kalam Azad Majumder.

Earlier, he left Dhaka at 7:30 pm on Monday (June 9). The chief advisor is accompanied by Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Dr. Abdul Momen.

One of the highlights of this visit is the Chief Advisor’s meeting with King Charles III of the United Kingdom and receiving the ‘King Charles Harmony Award’. He will meet King Charles at Buckingham Palace on June 12 and will formally receive the award from King Charles at St. James’s Palace in the afternoon.

In addition, as part of the visit, the Chief Adviser is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street on June 11. He will also participate in a dialogue hosted by Chatham House.

Dhaka-London diplomatic sources said that during this visit, various issues including prevention of money laundering, investment, Rohingya crisis and bilateral trade development between the two countries will be discussed. Especially in the context of the presence of people close to the previous government in the UK and their investment of money and assets there, Dhaka is likely to strongly raise the issue of bringing back the laundered money.

Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, Rehana’s son Radwan Mujib Siddique Bobby, and daughter Tulip Siddique, along with several influential individuals, are accused of laundering money abroad, many of whom the government has information about having purchased property in the UK.

In this context, the issue of seeking the UK government’s assistance is gaining importance. At the same time, it is expected that the UK’s support will be sought for various initiatives of the ongoing government regarding Bangladesh’s democratic transition, elections, the July-August 2024 violence and the trials thereof.

Britain may also revisit an old offer it made during the visit. Britain had offered Bangladesh four aircraft as part of a deal to buy 10 aircraft from European company Airbus during the previous government. Although the talks stalled due to political changes, the issue may come up again during the visit.

It is worth noting that after the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the student-public uprising, an interim government was formed on August 8, 2024 under the leadership of Dr. Yunus. After that, he visited New York to attend the UN General Assembly. After that, he visited the COP-29 conference in Azerbaijan in November, the D-8 conference in Egypt in December, the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, China in March, Thailand, Qatar and the Vatican in April. Dr. Yunus completed his visit to Japan at the end of last month.