chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus returns home

Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus has returned home after his visit to Qatar and participation in the funeral of Pope Francis. He left the Italian capital Rome at 1:30 pm on Sunday (April 27) Bangladesh time. The flight carrying him landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 3 am on Monday (April 28).

Pope Francis' funeral was held last Saturday (April 26). Dr. Muhammad Yunus was also present there along with prominent leaders from various countries of the world. Earlier, he arrived in Rome from Doha, Qatar on Friday (April 25).

After the Pope's funeral, two top leaders of the Catholic Church—Cardinal Silvano Maria Tomasi and Cardinal Jacob Kuvacad—met with Dr. Yunus separately on Saturday.
During the meeting, they recalled Pope Francis's vision of poverty alleviation, the rights of marginalized communities, and a world free of nuclear weapons. At the same time, they expressed gratitude and appreciation for Dr. Yunus' role in the anti-poverty movement. They also referred to him as a close friend of the Pope.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus recalled, "Pope Francis was an extraordinary humanitarian leader. He had the rare ability to embrace everyone, regardless of religion or caste."

In addition, Cardinal Tomasi, former permanent observer of the United Nations Office at the Vatican, met with Dr. Yunus on Saturday. After a tour of Southeast Asia, they exchanged views on the global geopolitical situation.

On the same afternoon, Cardinal Kuvakkad, head of the Vatican's Department for Interreligious Dialogue, met with Dr. Yunus at a hotel in Rome. He said that an interfaith dialogue will be organized in Bangladesh in September under the initiative of the Catholic Church, where leaders of different religions will participate.

In addition, in Rome, Dr. Yunus met with Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin. The meeting, held after attending the Pope's funeral, discussed the current state of global trade and the need to increase cooperation between Latin America and Asia.