Diplomats representing 27 European countries, stationed in Dhaka and New Delhi, will together meet Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on December 9. Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Director General (Public Diplomacy wing) Mohammad Rafiqul Alam shared the updates during the weekly briefing on Thursday. Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Michael Miller will join with 27 diplomats. Responding to a question, he said both sides will explore new areas of cooperation, in addition to discussion on Rohingya crisis, GSP+ facilities in the post-LDC era and partnership and cooperation pact with Bangladesh. The European Union (EU’s) trade relations with Bangladesh are based on unilateral trade preferences granted by the EU since 2001 under the GSP Everything but Arms (EBA) duty-free, quota-free market access arrangement for the LDCs. Read: Govt to brief diplomats on minority issues today This is the first time when 27 ambassadors from the European Union will come together to discuss with the government. The reason for this meeting is to express the EU's support and to develop high-level cooperation in the economic field. Twenty ambassadors from 20 European countries are based in New Delhi, and seven ambassadors are based in Dhaka.

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Tuesday hoped that the citizen groups, Bangladeshi diaspora, political parties and civil society would raise their voices against the massive misinformation campaign against Bangladesh. "There has been a kind of massive disinformation campaign against us,” he said, adding that it is an evil effort to put the whole nation into question. The Press Secretary said what is happening around is the result of a misinformation campaign as an impression is deliberately being given that something dangerous is taking place in the country. Putting blame largely on Indian media for spreading propaganda, he said it seems the Indian media is pre-determined to say what is happening in Bangladesh. “If you have a pre-determined stance, to be honest, we can’t say much.” Alam said they are inviting journalists globally to see and write based on facts to let the world know the actual situation on the ground. Read: INR survey: Bangladesh faces media credibility crisis amid disinformation surge and digital literacy gaps Meanwhile, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus is going to hold talks separately with different stakeholders, including political parties and religious leaders, as he seeks national unity. The Press Secretary said there is a possibility of a meeting with political parties at the Foreign Service Academy at 4pm on Wednesday. The meeting with religious leaders will be held on Thursday, but the time has not been decided yet, he said. The Press Secretary said the Chief adviser will call for national unity at the meetings. Prof Yunus held a meeting with student leaders on Tuesday evening. “He (Prof Yunus) called the students to help rebuild the nation,” Alam told UNB after the meeting. Read more: National Unity: Chief Adviser to hold talks with political, religious leaders CA’s Deputy Press Secretaries Apurba Jahangir and Abul Kalam Azad Majumder were also present at the media briefing.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus will hold talks separately with different stakeholders including political parties and student leaders as he seeks national unity. Briefing the media on Tuesday evening, Chief adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said there is a possibility of a meeting with political parties at the Foreign Service Academy at 4pm on Wednesday. The meeting with religious leaders will be held on Thursday, but the time has not been decided yet, he said. Read: BNP urges Chief Adviser to foster national unity to resolve issues The Press Secretary said the Chief adviser will call for national unity at the meetings. Prof Yunus held a meeting with student leaders on Tuesday evening. CA’s Deputy Press Secretaries Apurba Jahangir and Abul Kalam Azad Majumder were also present at the media briefing.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday invited more Swedish investment, saying the interim government is carrying out vital reforms to ensure ease in doing business in the country. Dr Yunus made the request when Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Nicolas Weeks met him at his Tejgaon office. "We encourage more Swedish investment in Bangladesh," the 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate said, adding that his government has curbed corruption, made investment in export processing zones easier, and moved to ratify ILO conventions on labour laws. Ambassador Weeks said his government supports the Yunus-led interim government and its move to reform the police, judiciary, election commission and civil administration.   "Let me assure you that you have our full support in this transition," Weeks said. Chief Adviser Yunus hopeful SAARC can give dividends to people of the region if revitalised During the meeting, they also discussed different aspects of the July-August revolution, the government's reform initiatives, Swedish investment in Bangladesh, and women's role in the mass uprising. Mentioning that the key word of the revolution was ‘reform’, Prof Yunus said his government is determined to carry out reforms before holding elections. Bangladesh plays "pivotal role" in advancing SAARC process, says its SG The Chief Adviser said the situation in the country has stabilised, although some challenges remain, including managing high expectations, from various groups in the society.  "Managing expectations is a big task. We are trying, but we are very careful." Lamiya Morshed, senior secretary and principal coordinator of the SDG Affairs, and Shahnaz Gazi, Director General of the foreign ministry, were present.

An average of 16 billion dollars were illicitly siphoned off from Bangladesh every year during Sheikh Hasina's “corrupt autocracy”, leaving the country in a “state of plunder” when she fled after a popular mass uprising, a White Paper on the state of the economy during her rule said on Sunday.  The committee submitted its report to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at his Tejgaon office, saying they were horrified by the level of corruption, plunder and statistical manipulation conducted by Hasina's regime.  Eminent economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, the chair of the committee, led the delegation while submitting the report at a ceremony held at the Chief Adviser’s Tejgaon offiec. On August 21, the interim government decided to publish a white paper highlighting the current economic situation. The areas which were focused in the white paper are public finance management – domestic resources, public expenditure (public investment, ADP, subsidies and debt), financing of budget deficit; inflation and food management - production, public procurement and public  food distribution; external balance - export, import, remittances, FDI, foreign exchange reserves, foreign finance flow and debt; energy and power - demand, supply, pricing, costs and purchase agreements; private investment - access to credit, electricity, connectivity and logistics; employment - in-country and overseas, formal and informal wages, youth employment. White Paper on economy submitted to CA Dr Yunus Chief Adviser Prof Yunus thanked the committee for doing a landmark, saying it should be published once it is finalised and be taught in textbooks in national college and university curricula.  “This is a historic document. It will show us the economy we inherited after the July-August mass uprising. The nation will benefit from this document,” said the Chief Adviser in his short speech before receiving the White Paper.  "Our blood curdles to know how they plundered the economy. The sad part is they looted the economy openly. And most of us could not summon courage to confront it," he said.  Even the multilateral agencies that monitor Bangladesh's economy were also largely silent when this plunder took place, he said.  Head of the committee, Debapriya Bhattacharya, said they worked independently without any interference from the government.   “The problem is deeper than what we have thought,” he said, adding that the 30-chapter and 400-page long White Paper will show how crony capitalism gave birth to the Oligarchs, who controlled the policy framing.  Committee member Mustafizur Rahman said they examined seven large projects out of 29 projects with over Tk 10,000 crore expenditure outlay for each. The total expenses on 29 large projects were $87 billion, or Tk 7,80,000 crore.  BNP delegation to meet Chief Adviser this evening The estimated initial cost of the seven projects examined was Tk 1,14,000 crore. The project costs were later revised to Tk 1,95,000 crore by adding many components, showing an inflated land price, and manipulating the purchase.  The project costs were raised almost 70 percent without analysing the cost benefit, he said.  He also suggested the start of special prosecution to try people who were involved in money laundering. Committee member Prof AK Enamul Haque said in the last 15 years over Tk 700,000 crore was spent on the Annual Development Programme (ADP), and 40 percent of the money was plundered by bureaucrats.  Committee member Mohammad Abu Eusuf revealed that the amount of tax exemption during the past regime was six percent of the total GDP of the country. If it could be reduced to half, the education budget could be doubled and the health budget could be tripled, he said.  M Tamim, another member of the committee, said $30 billion was invested on power generation, and if the kickback was considered 10 percent, the amount would be at least $3 billion.  Interim Govt to pursue crimes against humanity charges at ICC against Hasina regime: Chief Adviser Yunus Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, Principal Secretary Sirajuddin Sathi and Senior Secretary Lamiya Morshed were also present.  The report titled “Dissection of a Development Narrative” is expected to be made available for the public soon.  

The committee formed to prepare a “White Paper” on the state of economy submitted its report to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Sunday. Eminent economist Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, the chair of the committee, led the delegation while submitting the report at a ceremony held at the Chief Adviser’s Tejgaon office. On August 21, the interim government decided to publish a white paper highlighting the current economic situation. Interim Govt to pursue crimes against humanity charges at ICC against Hasina regime: Chief Adviser Yunus The areas which were focused in the white paper are public finance management – domestic resources, public expenditure (public investment, ADP, subsidies and debt), financing of budget deficit; inflation and food management - production, public procurement and public  food distribution; external balance - export, import, remittances, FDI, foreign exchange reserves, foreign finance flow and debt; energy and power - demand, supply, pricing, costs and purchase agreements; private investment - access to credit, electricity, connectivity and logistics; employment - in-country and overseas, formal and informal wages, youth employment. The white paper findings will be shared with the media on Monday. US says labor rights in Bangladesh critical to ensuring national economic prosperity at this “unique moment” Committee members, including Prof Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of CPD; Dr Selim Raihan, Prof of Department of Economics, University of Dhaka;  Dr Zahid Hussain, former lead economist of the World Bank; Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO of Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) and Dr M Tamim, Prof of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) were present.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday condemned the murder of a lawyer in the port city of Chattogram. He has ordered an investigation into the killing and appropriate legal course, said Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder. Prof Yunus urged all to keep calm and stay away from participating in any untoward activities. The Chief Adviser also instructed law enforcement agencies to step up security in the port city, including all the vulnerable neighbourhoods. Read: Ctg court area turns violent over denial of ex-ISKCON leader’s bail; lawyer killed "The interim government is committed to ensuring and upholding communal harmony in Bangladesh at any cost," Azad said. Advocate Saiful Islam Alif was hacked to death amid clashes between police and Hindu community people on a Chattogram court premises on Tuesday after the court rejected bail to former ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in a sedition case.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday hailed Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) for setting examples for others by continuing to make profit. "They are examples for state-owned companies," he said. The Chief Adviser made the remark when BSC handed him over a cheque of TK 475.25 crore as installment of a loan the organisation obtained from the government and China Exim Bank in 2016. BSC took the loan to purchase six ships, including three bulk carriers, at a cost of over Tk 1,457 crore, according to the chief adviser’s press wing. Reviving public-police relations an urgent need: Shipping Adviser The loan deal enabled BSC to add six commercial ships to its fleet for the first time in 27 years in 2018-2019. Five of these ships are now carrying goods across different oceans using the Bangladesh flag. BSC is supposed to repay the government Tk 2,425 crore as the amount of the loan and interest in several installments over a period of 13 years. The adviser for the Shipping Ministry, M Sakhawat Hussain, shipping secretary Mohammad Yousuf, and BSC managing director, Commodore Mahmudul Malek, were present on the occasion.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday expressed his deep condolences at the death of Zakaria Pintoo, the captain of Swadhin Bangla Football Dal. In a message, the Chief Adviser said he was shocked and saddened to learn that Zakaria Pintoo, a freedom fighter and the captain of historic Swadhin Bangla Football Dal, died on Monday morning. “As the leader of that legendary team, he toured India to raise money and crucial support for our wartime government in exile. When he was not playing, he would be cheering for our freedom fighters and emerge as a face of our liberation struggle,” said Prof Yunus. Nothing negative suddenly emerging as Trump is President: Prof Yunus After the war of independence, Zakaria Pintoo became the country’s first national team captain. He was a legendary central back and a true defender of the Green and Red national colours. “When he ended his two decade-long playing career, he played a crucial role in organising sports. He was an out-and-out sportsman till his death,” Prof Yunus said. The Chief Adviser prayed for the departed soul. “My condolences to his bereaved family and the sports fraternity—to whom Zakaria Pintoo was a true legend," he said.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has said he does not see any negative thing emerging suddenly because Donald Trump (President-elect) is President of the United States, stressing that he does not have any problem with Trump in a personal way. “I think foreign policy of the United States is not something that switches back and forth depending on who is the President,” he said while responding to a question during an interview with Qatar-based media Al Jazeera, adding that there is a stable part of that policy. Prof Yunus said he has no problem as far as the Republican Party or Democratic Party is concerned, or even Trump is concerned. Trump names fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary The chief adviser said he had no interaction with President Trump in the past and he has friends in both the parties.   Donald Trump will officially become the 47th President of the United States at a ceremony called the inauguration. The inauguration day will take place on January 20, 2025 and it is the day Donald Trump moves into the White House. Until then President Joe Biden remains in the top job. It will be the second time that Trump is going to take up the role - after previously having served as president between 2017 and 2021. Before the US election, Trump condemned the "barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh.” “It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the world and in America. They have been a disaster from Israel to Ukraine to our own Southern Border, but we will Make America Strong Again and bring back Peace through Strength!” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Responding to a question by an Al Jazeera journalist on this, Prof Yunus said this is mostly propaganda – totally baseless propaganda. “It’s unfortunate.” He said most of the propaganda originates from the Indian side for whatever reason it may be – to keep the tensions alive, probably.  Majority Whip Durbin expresses support for Dr. Yunus at US Senate “But in reality, it does not exist,” said Prof Yunus, adding that violence started during the period of revolution not because they are Hindus or other religions but because mostly they were Awami Leaguers. “Most of the Hindus happened to be Awami Leaguers.” In his televised speech on Sunday evening, the chief adviser said the minorities were subjected to violence in some cases but it was ‘completely exaggerated’. “When we took over the charge, Bangladesh was a completely unguarded country. At that time, there was an attempt to spread unnecessary panic among religious minorities,” he said. The chief adviser said the main reason for the few incidents of violence that occurred was political.