Biden-Yunus meeting at UN on Sept 24 billed as important event

Chief Adviser of the interim government Prof Dr. Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with US president Joe Biden on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 24.

To hold the meeting, Dr Muhammad Yunus is now arriving in New York on September 23 changing his previous schedule by a commercial flight for a five-day visit.

According to the UN convention, the US president usually arrives in New York the morning of his scheduled speech at the UN General Assembly. Following the address, he hosts a reception in the afternoon in honour of the heads of states and governments attending the assembly. But a bilateral meeting between the US President and the leader of another country on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly is very rare. In the last three decades, there has been no such meeting with a top leader from Bangladesh, while the Bangladeshi leaders always met the US president at his reception. The Yunus-Biden meeting is called a unique one.

The USA side has finalised the meeting date on Thursday, to match the programme, Dr Yunus will be traveling to New York on September 23, a day earlier than initially planned. However, he will address the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on September 27, over the theme of this year's General Debate "Leaving no one behind: Acting together for peace, sustainable development, and human dignity for present and future generations."

According to analysts, Dr Yunus' meetings in New York are significant for Bangladesh. Specifically, it signals that the interim government will enjoy robust cooperation from the west and international lenders.

Dr Yunus is also scheduled to meet with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, World Bank president Ajay Banga and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. On the sidelines of the UNGA, the chief adviser is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with prime ministers of Pakistan, Nepal and Netherlands and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Discussions are going on regarding his bilateral meetings with the President of Italy and Crown Prince of Kuwait and Chinese foreign minister may meet the CA. Besides, the President of the European Union, UN Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, President of the World Bank, and USAID Administrator will call on Prof Yunus to have bilateral talks.

However, there will be no bilateral meeting between Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the schedule of the two leaders overlapped. The Indian PM will depart New York for home earlier and when the Chief Adviser will be in the UNGA, Modi will not be there. 

But Foreign Adviser Dr Touhid will have a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on the sidelines.

"In his address the chief adviser will highlight the student-led movement that took place in July and will express the government's conviction to build a pro- people welfare state system, aimed at serving the people," Bangladesh Foreign Adviser Towhid Hossain has commented earlier.

Besides issues related to climate change, Bangladesh's role in peacekeeping, trafficking of wealth from the poor nations, safe migration, conflict resolution and Palestine situation will be featured in his address, he added.

On the heels of ongoing conflicts in different parts of the world and incidents of human rights violations, the upcoming UNGA is very significant, the adviser said. Bangladesh will also organise a side event on the Rohingya crisis on the sidelines of the UNGA, the adviser said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Adviser will represent Bangladesh in the Summit of Future which will be held from September 22 to September 23.

This Summit will adopt a declaration titled the 'Pact of Future,'
Foreign Adviser Touhid will also attend the meetings of the foreign ministers of the OIC, LDCs, and Commonwealth countries on the sidelines of the UNGA.

The interim government has started the reform process to build a new Bangladesh, the foreign adviser said, adding that the upcoming UNGA session will be a big opportunity to present the new Bangladesh, free of discrimination.

He said the chief adviser's speech would also feature issues such as Bangladesh's strong stance in international peacekeeping, climate change, global conflicts, Rohingya crisis, challenges faced by developing nations in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), preventing the illicit flow of resources, and safeguarding migrant rights.

Highlighting the significance of Prof Yunus's participation, Hossain noted that the Nobel laureate is highly respected globally, and his remarks will carry weight on the international community.

He said that Prof. Yunus's esteemed global reputation has attracted significant attention from prominent international media outlets seeking interviews, along with numerous invitations for bilateral meetings and high-level engagements.

The foreign adviser said on the sidelines of the UNGA, he will represent Bangladesh at several important meetings, including the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ministerial meeting, the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers meeting, the Islamic Cooperation Organization (OIC) ministerial meeting, and the annual ministerial meeting of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).