Nobel Laureate and Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday described the upcoming February 2026 general election as a “foundational” step toward strengthening democracy in Bangladesh.
“The upcoming February (2026)election will be a foundational one, ushering in a new era for the country’s democracy,” Yunus told Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo during her courtesy call at his hotel in New York, reports BSS.
During the meeting, the two leaders discussed a range of pressing global and national issues, including Bangladesh’s forthcoming general election, reforms undertaken by the interim government, the integration of social business into sports and the Olympic movement, and the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis.
Muhammad Yunus, who played a key role in shaping the Paris 2024 Olympic Games into one of the largest social business platforms in history, emphasised the importance of making future Olympics—such as the upcoming Los Angeles Games—entirely carbon neutral.
He reaffirmed that Bangladesh is on track for a democratic transition, with the next general election scheduled for the first half of February.
Mayor Hidalgo expressed her full confidence in CA Muhammad Yunus’s leadership during this crucial time.
“I admire your leadership. You’ve done an excellent job,” she said.
Both leaders highlighted the urgent need for increased global funding to support humanitarian efforts for over one million Rohingya refugees currently living in camps in south-eastern Bangladesh.
Mayor Hidalgo also called for improved living conditions in refugee camps around the world and expressed hope that the Rohingya people would eventually be able to return safely and with dignity to their homeland in Myanmar.
Yunus noted that the United Nations is set to host a major international conference on the Rohingya crisis next week, aimed at revitalising international attention on one of the most severe refugee situations in recent decades.
He extended an invitation to Mayor Hidalgo to visit Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time.
Lamiya Morshed, SDG Coordinator and Senior Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh, was also present during the meeting.
