Chief Adviser to the interim government Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus will attend the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) later this month, although his visit will be brief, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said in Dhaka on Sunday (Sep 1). "(However) the date of Chief Adviser's departure is not finalised yet," he told media at the foreign ministry. The adviser noted that Prof Yunus's tour to New York will be brief. Hossain said he will discuss Chief Adviser's engagements at the UNGA with him before the trip.
The Foreign Affairs Adviser also indicated that Yunus may participate in a limited number of sideline meetings while in New York.
In response to a question about Sheikh Hasina's status in India, Hossain advised journalists to direct their inquiries to Indian authorities.
Regarding bringing back Sheikh Hasina to Bangladesh, Hossain reiterated that the government would act in accordance with the legal process if required.
About the recently signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with India, including those in the railway sector, Hossain emphasized that MoUs are not legally binding and that there is always room for review to protect national interests.
Muhammad Yunus starts his office at CAO
Chief Adviser to the interim government Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus on Sunday (Sep 1) started his office at the Chief Adviser’s Office (CAO), previously known as Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), at Tejgaon in the capital. Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam confirmed the matter to National News Agency of Bangladesh.
The Sheikh Hasina government was toppled on Aug 5 in 2024 in a student-people revolution. Later, on August 8, Nobel Peace Laureate and economist Prof Yunus was sworn in as the chief adviser to the interim government. Since then, he was holding his office at the state guest house Jamuna in Dhaka.
When ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country on Aug 5, the PMO was vandalised, rendering it unusable. Repair work was carried out there for 15 consecutive days and now it has been made suitable for the office of the chief adviser.
The nameplates of the PMO have already been changed inside and outside the office, while security measures have been tightened too.
