Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus is set to receive the highly prestigious King Charles Harmony Award 2025 in the United Kingdom. At the invitation of King Charles III, Dr. Yunus will travel to London on June 10. The award ceremony will take place on June 12, organized by the British Royal Family. King Charles III himself will hand over the award to the Nobel Laureate economist. Dr. Yunus is expected to return to Dhaka on June 13 following the visit.
The King Charles Harmony Award was first introduced in 2024. Its inaugural recipient was Ban Ki-moon, the former UN Secretary-General and South Korea’s former Foreign Minister. King Charles III personally presented the first award to Mr. Ban at St. James’s Palace on June 11, 2024. The King’s Foundation, which oversees the award, offers recognition in several categories — but CEO Christina Murrin has emphasized that the Harmony Award holds exceptionally special significance.
Sources confirm that Dr. Yunus’s visit to receive the award is almost finalized. There is also an ongoing effort to incorporate bilateral elements into the proposed four-day trip. As per the preliminary plan, Dr. Yunus will arrive in London on June 10 and depart on June 13. On the third day of the visit is the day of the award ceremony he is scheduled to hold a courtesy meeting with King Charles III.
Programs for the first, second, and final days of the visit are still being finalized. Efforts are underway to schedule bilateral meetings during this time including potential appointments with the British Prime Minister, bipartisan political leaders, and the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. A Bangladeshi official noted that the UK is currently observing a bank holiday, and that final confirmations for these meetings are expected early next week.
Read More: Top 100 TikTok Mental Health Videos Exposed Over 50% Spread Dangerous Misinformation, Study Reveals
The upcoming trip to the UK will mark Dr. Yunus’s 11th foreign visit since assuming the role of Chief Adviser. Over the past ten months, he has traveled to ten countries, beginning with his participation in the United Nations General Assembly last September. His most recent trip the 10th was to Japan at the end of May 2025.
In Japan, he attended the 30th Nikkei Forum: Future of Asia, held in Tokyo from May 28 to 31. That visit also included bilateral engagements, notably a significant meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister. Dr. Yunus returned home on Saturday following that trip. While none of his past ten foreign visits were categorized as official state visits, there are indications that a proposed visit to Malaysia in mid-July might be upgraded to a state-level visit.
