Dr. Yunus seeks help from international allies to recover stolen money
Principal Advisor Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus has sought the help of international allies to recover the stolen money from Bangladesh.
He made this appeal to world leaders in his speech on the second day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
The Principal Advisor met with Wolfgang Schmid, Head of the Federal Chancellery of Germany and Federal Minister for Special Tasks, King Philippe of Belgium, Prime Minister of Thailand, Phatthana Shinawatra, Federal Councillor of the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis, and Chairperson of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Sheikh Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, he met with the United Arab Emirates, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, former US Secretary of State John Kerry and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, among others.
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting is held in the Swiss mountain town of Davos in January every year.
Professor Yunus has come here in a different role this time, said Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, noting that he is now the head of government. He is still one of the most popular speakers here. However, this time he rarely talks about his main ideas. Dr. Yunus has brought a new real-life story. How the youth of Bangladesh overthrew a ‘dictator’, how their ideas are creating a new Bangladesh and how the country is being rebuilt.
After the meeting, Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Advisor, said, “The Chief Advisor urged world leaders to send top experts, think tanks, journalists and international organizations to Bangladesh to investigate how ‘daylight robbery’ has taken place in Bangladesh during Sheikh Hasina’s 16-year corrupt rule.”
Azad Majumder said that the meeting was attended by the Chief Advisor’s Special Envoy Lutfe Siddiqui, Principal Coordinator (Senior Secretary) for SDGs Lamia Morshed, and Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to Geneva Ambassador Tarek Md. Ariful Islam.
Lutfe Siddiqui briefed German Minister Wolfgang Schmidt about the government’s efforts to recover the stolen money and said that the government has formed an asset recovery committee and a task force under the leadership of the Governor of Bangladesh Bank in this regard. The government had initially targeted the top 20 money launderers to recover the stolen money.
Highlighting the government’s efforts to build a corruption-free Bangladesh, Chief Advisor Professor Yunus told the German minister, “When we talk about a new Bangladesh, we also talk about a clean Bangladesh.”
The Chief Advisor sought Germany’s support in this regard and also discussed possible areas of economic cooperation with the country’s minister.
At the time, the German minister said that a new German business delegation will visit Bangladesh next April.
Professor Yunus said that Bangladesh wants to create an economic platform involving India, Nepal and Bhutan to explore the potential of Nepal’s hydropower. Nepal is really ready to sell electricity and Bangladesh is a good market for them. It can create a lot of jobs and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
The Chief Advisor had detailed discussions with Swiss Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis on issues of mutual interest, including economic cooperation and climate finance. He requested Switzerland to support Bangladesh’s efforts to sequester carbon in the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans.
Dr. Yunus called on Switzerland to invest in Bangladesh and said, “Utilize the potential of Bangladesh’s youth. Because half of the country’s population is young people under the age of 27.”
The Chief Advisor briefed the world leaders on the reform plans of the interim government of Bangladesh and the plans for the upcoming general elections.
During the meeting with the German minister and the Swiss councilor, he also discussed Bangladesh’s energy security.
The chief adviser met with King Philippe of Belgium and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi. The meeting was informed about how a microfinance program launched by a group led by a Belgian prince has helped expand the size of tropical forest reserves in the African country.
A group founded by Prince Emmanuel de Merode introduced microfinance in the conflict-prone Congolese region. He said that after the conflict, Congolese forests are now twice the size of Britain. And microfinance has created jobs for 21,000 people there. About 11 percent of them are former combatants. He also said that the microfinance program has played a major role in restoring peace in the region.
The chief adviser also discussed various areas of economic cooperation with Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra, including the Rohingya crisis and shipping. He said, “We want to resolve the Rohingya crisis quickly, because more Rohingya are coming to Bangladesh.”
Shinawatra, one of the youngest prime ministers in the world, has expressed interest in increasing youth engagement between the two countries after the July Revolution in Bangladesh.
Professor Yunus said that the Thai Prime Minister’s father, Thaksin Shinawatra, was a big fan of microfinance and social entrepreneurship. The Chief Advisor briefed the Thai Prime Minister on the ‘Three Zeros’ concept of saving a self-destructive civilization by reducing poverty, centralization of wealth, unemployment and carbon emissions.
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