Dhaka //

Norway’s State Secretary for International Development Stine Renate Hoheim met with Principal Advisor Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka on Tuesday. During this time, she reiterated Norway’s continued support for Bangladesh.

During the meeting, the Norwegian State Secretary conveyed Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Storr’s greetings and highlighted Norway’s long-standing relations with Bangladesh.

She told the Principal Advisor, “You are a very well-known figure in Norway. Our Prime Minister often praises you. Your relationship is long-standing.”

Professor Yunus highlighted the deep and historical relations between the two countries. She said, “Norway has always stood by Bangladesh at crucial moments. There is no way to deny your role in our development journey.”

Hoheim highlighted Norway’s commitment to multilateral cooperation and democratic transformation. He said, “We are here to support the democratic transformation process of Bangladesh. You have a huge responsibility on your shoulders and the expectations of the people of Bangladesh are high.”

Professor Yunus highlighted the challenges the country has faced in recent months. He said, “Many lives have been lost in the July coup, our economy has been severely damaged. During the previous government, about 16 billion US dollars were laundered every year. Bank loans were considered a gift, and we have been burdened with a huge amount of outstanding bills.”

Professor Yunus said that despite these difficult times, the world’s confidence in Bangladesh is gradually increasing. He said, “Many of the world’s leading companies, including some from Norway, came to the BIDA conference held in Dhaka recently to see our situation firsthand. They came not only out of a sense of responsibility, but also out of curiosity and belief that there is potential here.”

The Principal Advisor called for continued Norwegian support to Bangladesh in the humanitarian field, especially for the forcibly displaced Rohingya population.

“These are also people who were born with dreams. The Rohingya youth need to be shown hope. Many of the young people came when they were seven or ten years old, now they are teenagers. They have grown up in the camps. Every day more children are being born—in an uncertain future. They want to return home, but now they are stuck in a state of instability. We cannot forget them.”

Hoheim acknowledged the gravity of the humanitarian crisis and reiterated Norway’s commitment. “We deeply respect the way Bangladesh has led in addressing this crisis. We want to transform the relationship beyond development cooperation into a broader and more dynamic partnership.”

Lamia Morshed, Principal Coordinator for SDGs at the Office of the Principal Advisor, and Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were present at the meeting.

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