On the eve of an extended Eid holiday, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus’ address to the nation, which we published an English translation of here, updated Bangladeshi citizens and allies about recent progress and announced national elections for April 2026. His message was well received by the nation and the diplomatic community.
Since then, Dr. Yunus completed a visit to the U.K., where he was warmly received. During the trip, he accepted the inaugural “Harmony Award” from King Charles III and made progress on recovering billions of dollars stolen by the last government (including the largest ever freezing of assets by the UK government’s National Crime Agency). He also met many Members of Parliament, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as well as business and civil society leaders.
During a talk at Chatham House, the Chief Adviser stated definitively that he would not accept any post in the next government, and did not think any of his cabinet members would either.
The Chief Adviser’s press secretary summarized the achievements of the trip in a post on Facebook.
The trip was scheduled during the Eid festival so that the Chief Adviser wouldn’t miss any working days in Bangladesh. While abroad, the government’s press unit debunked many false rumors, including one about the Bangladesh flag being changed.
One highlight of the trip was a much-anticipated meeting with BNP interim chairman Tarique Rahman. The 90-minute conversation touched on many topics, including the timing of the next national election. In response to a request by Mr. Rahman that the election date be moved up, the Chief Adviser said that, if certain conditions were met, that it could be held in February 2026, before the holy month of Ramadan.
The nation responded to this meeting with relief and excitement. Resolving differences through dialogue and compromise to advance the national interest augurs a possible change in the political culture of Bangladesh, which has achieved so much in other areas in recent decades. This analysis of the meeting by Dhaka Courier editor Shayan S. Khan captured the general reaction to it among intellectuals and the public. (In a separate post, Khan wondered whether the positive response to the Yunus-Rahman meeting prompted the son of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to spread the false rumor about the flag change.)
Bangladesh continues to quietly catch up to and surpass its neighbors in a growing number of measures of national achievement. For example, Bangladesh’s GDP per capita now exceeds that of India, and very recent data suggest that Bangladesh’s economic growth accelerating.
And now, Netra News has reported that Bangladesh does better than any other country in the region in terms of including religious and ethnic minorities in government, academia, and the police. “In bustling offices nationwide,” the article reported, “minority officers help shape decisions in the police and civil services. They litigate cases and deliver justice as lawyers and judges in crowded courtrooms, guide new generations of students at top universities, and steer public opinion through the media. Within these civilian institutions, minorities serve in proportions that match — and at times surpass — their nine percent share of the population, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis by Netra News.”
Progress towards the vision of Bangladesh 2.0 has understandably been uneven over the last 10 months, but momentum appears to be building day by day.
