Care-taker government Chief Adviser, Muhammad Yunus, had hoped to visit India before heading to China as scheduled. New Delhi did not, however, take kindly to the warm welcome accorded to it by Dhaka. This happened after the government’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, revealed
Dr. Yunus departs for China on Wednesday (March 26). Reporting this, Shafiqul Alam told The Hindu that President Xi Jinping would meet with Dr. Yunus and promote Bangladesh as a destination for Chinese investment in the manufacturing business.
Shafiqul Alam also quoted that the Bangladesh government would like to have a better bilateral relationship with India. He explained, “We have expressed interest and invited the Indian side in early December last year for Dr. Yunus’ visit to India. The invitation has been made a couple of weeks prior to his China visit has been finalized. Unfortunately, we did not receive any positive response.”
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The spokesman also notified that the press secretary has also invited the Dr. Yunus for the Bangkok meeting of the BIMSTEC on April 3-4 after he returns from China. He also added, “We have also sought the meeting of the Dr. Yunus with Narendra Modi in the next meeting of the BIMSTEC in Thailand. Waiting for the response from India.”
During his visit to China from March 26-29, the Nobel laureate will also sit down with the best Chinese investors because he desires to present Bangladesh as an investor hub.
Apart from the March 28 meeting with Xi Jinping, Peking University will also welcome Dr. Yunus who will receive an honorary doctorate degree there. Dr. Yunus will also participate in the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference on March 27.
According to the Hindu, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has previously met with Dr. Yunus in September, 2024, at the United Nations General Assembly session in New York. Wang Yi then introduced Dr. Yunus as the “old friend of the Chinese people.” During the same meeting, Dr. Yunus has sought Chinese cooperation for the manufacturing of solar panels in Bangladesh.
Dr. Yunus trip to People’s Republic of China, which coincide with Bangladesh Independence Day, has created eyebrows, as it has come in line with U.S. President Donald Trump redrawing global trade lines and imposing tit-for-tat tariffs.
