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Published : 17 Sep 2025, 07:56 PM
Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus is set to depart for New York on Sunday night to attend the 80th United Nations General Assembly, accompanied by four senior leaders from three major political parties -- BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and National Citizen Party.
Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain shared details of the visit at a press conference held at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He said Yunus will leave Dhaka on a commercial flight on Sept 21 night and is scheduled to arrive in New York on Sept 22.
The chief advisor is expected to return to Bangladesh on Oct 2 after completing the trip.
Joining Yunus on the delegation will be BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Jamaat-e-Islami deputy chief Abdullah Mohammad Taher, NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain, and Humayun Kabir, foreign affairs advisor to BNP’s acting chairman.
Such an initiative, where leaders of major political parties travel alongside the head of government to a UN assembly, is unprecedented in Bangladesh.
The UN, marking its 80th anniversary this year, has set the theme of the session as “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights”.
Touhid said this year’s session holds “special significance” for Bangladesh as, on Sept 30, the UN General Assembly president will chair a high-level meeting on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minority groups in Myanmar.
“This is the first time such a high-level meeting is being convened at the UN General Assembly on the Rohingya crisis,” he added.
The session also coincides with two other milestones: the 30th anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth and the 25th anniversary of the landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security.
To mark the youth programme’s anniversary, Yunus will join a high-level meeting on Sept 25. On Sept 26, he will address the UN General Assembly’s general debate.
According to the foreign advisor, Yunus is expected to present to the global stage the reforms and aspirations that emerged from last July’s mass uprising in Bangladesh, along with the commitment to hold elections and establish a “genuine” democratic system.
“At the same time, his speech will reflect Bangladesh’s strong position in peacekeeping, international security, the Rohingya crisis, climate change and climate justice, the challenges facing developing countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), efforts to stop illicit financial flows, safe migration, access to services for migrants, sustainable transfer of technology in the era of generative artificial intelligence, and above all, the call for ceasefire and lasting peace between Palestine and Israel,” Touhid said.
On the sidelines of the general assembly, Yunus will hold meetings with heads of state and government from different countries. He will also meet members of the Bangladeshi diaspora in the United States.
