Muhammad Yunus, who leads the interim government in Bangladesh, has met Alex Soros, the son of US billionaire George Soros, days after the new Trump administration paused all foreign aid, including to the Asian country that saw a regime change last year.
Sharing details about their meeting – the second in three months – Mr Yunus said in an online post that their conversation was focused on rebuilding the economy and carrying out viral economic reforms.
“The Open Society Foundations leadership on Wednesday met Chief Adviser to discuss Bangladesh’s efforts to rebuild the economy, trace siphoned-off assets, combat misinformation, and carry out vital economic reforms,” the Chief Adviser’s office said in an online post.
Open Society Foundations (OSF) is founded by Hungarian-born George Soros. His son Alex is its chairperson.
Besides economic reforms, the delegation that also included OSF president Binaifer Nowrojee discussed cybersecurity, the Rohingya crisis, and media freedom in Dhaka yesterday, local media reported.
Alex Soros pledged support for the Bangladesh interim government’s reform efforts during the meeting and said the students’ movement, which led to the fall of the Hasina regime last August, opened “great opportunities” to set a new course for the country.
Mr Soros also praised Mr Yunus for leading the country and bringing reforms that Bangladesh needed, reported The Daily Star. The Nobel laureate leader also thanked OSF for its support and said there is a lot of disinformation about the protests against the previous Hasina government.
Mr Yunus, the chief adviser of the government, had last met Soros in New York in October, weeks after taking charge following the ouster of former premier Sheikh Hasina. In an Instagram post, Mr Soros even called Mr Yunus “an old friend of my father” while sharing their photos from the meeting.
George Soros, who has spent billions to “tackle the spread of nationalism” across the world, has been accused of attempting regime change in several countries.
The Bangladesh regime change last year too had sparked allegations of US interference though the US government had laughed it off. An official of the US State Department had then any implication that the US was involved in Sheikh Hasina’s resignation was “absolutely false”.