The meeting will be held at 11 am (New York time), which will be the first meeting of the Bangladesh interim government chief with the US President.

“On September 24, the Bangladesh government chief and the US president will hold the meeting at 11 am (local time) at the UN headquarters in New York,” councilor of Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the UN Fahmid Farhan told BSS.

Diplomats said the meeting of Chief Adviser Prof Yunus and US President Biden indicates that the US administration wants to enhance diplomatic and economic relations with the Prof Yunus-led Bangladesh’s interim government.

Through this talks, the US administration is sending a clear message to Bangladesh that it is keen to boost bilateral ties, they said.

Diplomatic sources said during the high level talks between Joe Biden and Prof Yunus, the two leaders will discuss in detail how diplomatic and economic relations could be enhanced in writing a new chapter in bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United States.

They will also discuss the US support in implementing the reform agendas taken by the Bangladesh interim government.

Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain told BSS that he believes the Nobel Peace Laureate and a world-renowned personality like Prof Muhammad Yunus would play a positive role in leading the Bangladesh delegation and speaking for Bangladesh in the UN session.

So, he said, this session is very significant for Bangladesh.

A diplomat at the Bangladesh Permanent Mission to of the United Nations said once the US President gives a speech at the UNGA session, he hosts a reception in the afternoon of that day in honour of the heads of state and government joining the session.

Holding a bilateral meeting between the US President and the top leader of any country during the UNGA session is very rare, he said.

So far, the US President did not hold any meeting with any top leader of Bangladesh on the sidelines of the UNGA session, while the US president have always met and talked to the heads of state and government of Bangladesh at the reception hosted by the US President.

Besides, there was no meeting between the heads of Bangladesh government and the US top leader at the UN General Session.

About significance of the Biden-Yunus talks, the Bangladeshi diplomat said a US high-level delegation visited Dhaka on September 15 after the interim government took the charge of the government on August 8.

Within two weeks of the visit of the US delegation, he said, US President Joe Biden is going to hold a meeting with Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Prof Yunus.

The upcoming meeting in New York indicates that the US will provide all kinds of support to Bangladesh in the future, including reforms in various sectors after the political changeover, he added.

“IMF provides us with major budget support. The IMF will also extend support to us in the reform initiatives that we’re carrying out,” he said.

The Finance Adviser was talking to reporters this afternoon after IMF Resident Representative Jayendu De met him at his Finance Division office at Bangladesh Secretariat today.

During the meeting, he said they also talked about the upcoming meeting with an IMF mission in this month where there would be more detailed talks.

Answering to a question, Dr Salehuddin hinted that the additional $3 billion loan that Bangladesh was expecting from the IMF would be separate in addition to the already approved $4.7 billion support package.

After the meeting with the IMF Resident Representative, French Ambassador to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy, Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Park Young Sik and Country Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Bangladesh Dr Valantine Achancho met him separately at his office.

The Adviser said France has technical experts in various sectors including in IT while Bangladesh has some ongoing projects with French financing worth more than 400 million Euro. “They will also provide us support in different sectors,” he added.

In line with the French investments to Bangladesh, he hoped that many other countries would come to Bangladesh.

When asked about $1.1 billion possible support to Bangladesh announced by French president last year in climate change adaptation, the Adviser said there was no discussion in this regard.

“We’ve new priorities and those might not match with the priorities of the previous Awami League government, he added.

About his meeting outcomes with Korean Ambassador, Dr Salehuddin said Korea is one of Bangladesh’s important development partners and its quality and standard of work is very good.

He said the rate of interest of Korean loans is 0.5 percent which can be repaid in 40 years while it is also regarded as one of the softest loans. “Most of their (Korea’s) works are done through international bidding and a competitive process,” he added.

“We’re also looking at some big projects with Korean financing,” added the Finance Adviser.

Referring to his meeting with the IFAD Country Director, the Adviser said IFAD had long been operating in Bangladesh in agricultural projects, in agricultural finance as well it had provided enough support in micro finance and micro credit. “They (IFAD) have many ongoing projects in Bangladesh and they will come up with more projects,” he said.

Especially, the Adviser said they have talked on post-flood rehabilitation, adding, “IFAD has assured us of considering necessary support in this regard.”

ERD Secretary Shahriar Kader Siddiky and other senior officials were present, among others, in the meetings.

The chief of UN in Bangladesh, Gwyn Lewis, came up with assurance when she paid a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at his Tejgaon office here today.

During the meeting, they discussed reforms, corruption, floods, Rohingya crisis and the UN-led investigation on the July-August carnage.

Gwyn Lewis expressed her support for the reform initiatives undertaken by the interim government and she thanked Professor Yunus “for taking up extraordinary role” as the head of the post-revolution administration.

The Chief Adviser said this was the “most unifying moment” for the whole nation and the main job of his government was to “set an example” for everyone.

“This is a great opportunity for the country to reform the economy and fix almost every institution,” he said.

Gwyn Lewis enquired about the reforms in the security forces including police administration.

The chief adviser said the government has made police reform a top of its priorities.

He said the government was also committed to setting up an integrated national IT system, which will ease hassles and cut corruption in the country.

Prof Yunus said the government has also formed a commission to make major reform in the electoral system so that votes can be held in a free and fair manner.

Lewis said the UN-led investigation team has already started working on the murders and mayhem committed during July and August.

She said UN agencies, WHO and ILO, were looking at ways to help the injured victims and people who were traumatised by the events.

The UN resident coordinator said the UN has provided four million dollars for the post flood rehabilitation in the country’s eastern and southern region.

She said some 18 million people in Bangladesh have been hit by floods since the beginning of the monsoon and the UN was coordinating aid from the agencies and charities for the flood victims.

Prof Yunus sought UN help for instituting an early warning system for floods in South Asia.

They also discussed environmental, climate change and the Chittagong Hill Tracts issues, with Lewis outlining the aid work the UN agencies have done in the three hill districts.

Prof Yunus sought UN help for building a better future for the Rohingya children in the camps, saying “a whole generation of angry young people is growing up there”.

Every government servant has to submit their wealth statements by November 30 this year.

However, starting from next year, the submission must be completed by end of December every year.

The government will not publicly disclose the submitted wealth information, but it may be revealed if ordered by the court or decided by a relevant authority.

The Ministry of Public Administration has amended the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, 1979, to include these provisions.

Previously, employees were required to submit their asset statements every five years, but this rule was not strictly followed.

This directive applies to all government employees. Those who fail to comply will face disciplinary action as per conduct rules.

Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, Mokhles Ur Rahman, shared these updates during a press conference at the Secretariat today.

He stated that the government made this decision to prevent corruption among public servants, and adherence to these rules is mandatory for all employees.

Employees in Grade 9 and above must submit their asset statements to the secretary of their respective/controlling ministries or divisions. Meanwhile, employees in Grades 10 to 20 will submit their statements to their appointing authorities.

In response to a question, Mokhles Ur Rahman emphasised that past practices should be forgotten, and the new policies set by the current government must be followed. He also clarified that the Right to Information Act-2009, will not apply to the disclosure of asset statements.

Earlier, the Ministry of Public Administration had issued instructions on September 1 regarding the submission of asset statements.