British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declines to meet Muhammad Yunus
Dhaka: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declined to meet Bangladesh's Chief Adviser, Muhammad Yunus, after Awami League concerns over the reportedly scheduled meeting, a diplomat said on Thursday.
Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus is now in London on a bilateral official visit to the United Kingdom. The visit is taking place from June 10 to 13, 2025.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said that the Chief Adviser is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the visit.
"British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's meeting with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus is not taking place", a Bangladeshi diplomat told ANI over the phone without elaborating.
The Bangladesh Awami League on Monday expressed deep concern over UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's reportedly scheduled meeting with Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, the party said in a statement.
"The Awami League has today expressed deep concern over UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's reportedly scheduled meeting with Muhammad Yunus, the self-declared Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, warning that any formal meeting lends legitimacy to an unelected and unconstitutional administration", said the Awami League statement posted on its Facebook page.
A formal letter from the Awami League's UK branch has been sent to Downing Street, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the King's Foundation, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, urging British officials not to unwittingly launder Yunus's administration, just as Bangladesh's crisis deepens, it added.
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