Chief Adviser Prof Dr. Muhammad Yunus and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman. Photo: Collage

DHAKA, June 13, 2025 (BSS) - The much anticipated closed-door meeting between Chief Adviser Prof Dr. Muhammad Yunus and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will be held in London today.

This historic meeting will be held at the Dorchester Hotel in London from 2 pm to 4 pm BST (9 am to 11 am local time).

The two-hour-long meeting has created an excitement in the minds and hearts of crores of the countrymen. 

People of all classes and professions of Bangladesh, both at home and abroad, are eagerly waiting to know about outcome of the discussion.

Saner section, political analysts, political leaders and activists and people from all walks of life who love democracy expect that this meeting will turn the cornerstone of the country's political arena.

Neither side has revealed about the agenda of the meeting between the two most important leaders. 

However many issues recently added to politics, including elections, justice and reforms, will dominate the discussion.

Senior BNP leaders indicated that Tarique Rahman,  on behalf of the party, will raise the national election date in the first half of February as one of the agendas.

On the other hand, from the government's side, Dr. Yunus will want to keep the election deadline in the first half of April and give more importance to reforms and justice.

Besides, the relevance of Tarique Rahman's return to the country, the July Charter, the removal of autocracy's allies in various sectors including the administration, the Election Commission, the failure to swear in Engineer Ishraque Hossain as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation despite the court's verdict, the future structure of the caretaker government, the humanitarian corridor and the port system will also come up for discussion.

BNP UK branch leaders said that Tarique Rahman's delegation had informal discussions with the representative of the chief adviser visiting London to determine the agenda of the meeting.

The discussions took place last Wednesday. A representative of Tarique Rahman also met the relevant government representative on Thursday, Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said in a video message.

Regarding the meeting, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told BSS on Thursday night, "We are very optimistic about this meeting. Not only us, but the entire country's attention now on is London. Surely, a logical solution will come through the meeting between the two leaders. It will open the way for compromise. Through which, according to the expectations of the nation, a way will be found to move the country forward through a democratic process."

BNP standing committee member Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said, "The entire nation is expecting that all the political crises in the country will be  resolved through this meeting. We also believe that this will be a historic meeting. This meeting will bring good news to the country's politics. A nationally acceptable decision will be reached through these high-level discussions."

UK BNP President and Chairperson's Advisor MA Malek said that UK BNP held a preparatory meeting on Tuesday night welcoming the meeting between Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Tarique Rahman. 

From this Friday morning, local leaders, activists and supporters will take a stand in front of the Dorchester Hotel in solidarity. They will remain there throughout the meeting.