FROM PAGE 14

former presidents of Bulgaria; Ivo Josipović, former president of Croatia; Mladen Ivanić, former President of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, former president of Mauritius.

Also in attendance were a former secretary general of the Commonwealth, a former deputy PM of Georgia, four former presidents of the UN General Assembly, several former foreign ministers, Ismail Serageldin, former vice-president of the World Bank, and Kerry Kennedy, president of Robert F Kennedy Human Rights.

Yunus expressed deep gratitude for the overwhelming support.

“To see you come together like this in support of us -- it’s unbelievable. I am truly touched.”

He likened the challenges facing his administration to surviving a major natural disaster.

“This country has been through a 15-year-long earthquake. Its magnitude was 9 on the Richter scale,” he said.

He also pointed to the challenge of managing public expectations.

“People expect miracles overnight despite our limited resources. But we must also fulfil the dreams of our youth -- they are looking for a new Bangladesh,” he said.

The leaders acknowledged Bangladesh’s recent progress under Yunus’s leadership while also noting the serious challenges the country faces after 16 years of misrule, corruption and exploitation, said the press release.

Meanwhile, Tshering Tobgay, the prime minister of Bhutan, has expressed a strong interest in signing a free trade agreement (FTA) with Bangladesh and linking the two countries’ economic zones to boost trade and investment.

Tobgay made the proposal during a meeting with Yunus at the United Nations headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly on Friday.

Both countries could greatly benefit if Bhutan’s special economic zone (SEZ) and Gelephu Mindfulness City are connected with the SEZ in Kurigram that Bangladesh has officially allocated for Bhutanese investors, Tobgay said.

Yunus welcomed the proposals, stressing that both countries should explore all avenues to expand trade and investment.

Bhutan is eager to share its hydroelectric potential and is ready to welcome investment from Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical companies, Tobgay said. He also sought Bangladesh’s support to set up fibre optic connectivity in Bhutan.

Tobgay confirmed that Bhutan would join the upcoming UN-organised plenary session on the Rohingya issue in New York on September 30.

Yunus invited Tobgay to visit Bangladesh. Tobgay accepted, suggesting he might undertake the visit before Bangladesh’s planned general elections in February next year.