Former United Nations Secretary-General and ‍Chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia Ban Ki-moon met with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in south China today. Photo: PID

HAINAN, China, March 27, 2025 (BSS) - Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus 
today sought support and advice from former United Nations Secretary-General 
Ban Ki-moon for a smooth transition to democracy in Bangladesh.

"We want to start anew, we need your support and advice. We are having a 
great opportunity now," Prof Yunus told Ban Ki-moon as they met on the 
sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in south China's 
Hainan Province.

Ban Ki-moon praised the leadership of Chief Adviser Prof Yunus and said 
Bangladesh will do much better under his leadership. "Bangladesh now has a 
leader like you who is respected worldwide," said Ban Ki-moon. 

The former UN Secretary-General recalled his role in setting up diplomatic 
relationships between Bangladesh and South Korea when he was a young diplomat 
posted in New Delhi.

"It was my pen that was used to sign the agreement to formalise Korea's 
diplomatic relationship with Bangladesh," he recalled.

Ban Ki-moon said Bangladesh progressed a lot but should have done better 
politically and democratically.

Prof Yunus said once Korea and Bangladesh were on the same line, but now 
Korea has zoomed ahead.

"People of Bangladesh are wonderful, but political leadership destroyed us," 
he said.

Ban Ki-moon said that he introduced Bangladesh to Kihak Sung, the chairman of 
Youngone Corporation and one of the most respectful business leaders in 
Korea, who later went on to expand his business in a specialised economic 
zone in Bangladesh.

The Chief Adviser said Bangladesh recently settled a long-pending land issue 
with the Korean EPZ in Chattogram, hoping that it would encourage more Korean 
business people to invest in Bangladesh. 

Ashik Mahmud, chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority 
(BIDA), informed the meeting that Kihak Sung would lead a 26-member strong 
business delegation from Korea in the upcoming Business Summit in Dhaka. 

The Chief Adviser also sought Ban Ki-moon's support in settling the Rohingya 
crisis and invited him to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time.