Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will join nearly 100,000 Rohingya refugees for an iftar event in Cox’s Bazar on Friday. This gathering, organized at the initiative of the Chief Advisor, will take place in the Rohingya refugee camps. The announcement was made on Wednesday during a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka by the Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and Deputy Press Secretary Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar.

Secretary-General Guterres is set to arrive in Bangladesh on Thursday for a four-day visit. Azad Majumdar outlined his schedule, stating that Guterres will land in Dhaka at 5 PM on March 14 and depart on March 16, with the primary engagements planned for Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, he will meet with Chief Advisor Dr. Yunus and Foreign Affairs Advisor Md. Tauhid Hossain before traveling to the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar. The Chief Advisor will also be in Cox’s Bazar for separate engagements before joining the iftar event. The UN Secretary-General will directly visit the refugee camps, participate in various programs, and later break fast with the Rohingya community.

Azad Majumdar stated, “We expect nearly 100,000 Rohingya refugees to attend the iftar alongside the Chief Advisor and the UN Secretary-General. This event is being hosted as a gesture of goodwill by the Chief Advisor.” On Saturday, Guterres will continue with a packed schedule, visiting the UN office in Dhaka in the morning, followed by a meeting with the National Consensus Commission and civil society representatives in the afternoon. He is also scheduled to address a press conference.

That evening, Chief Advisor Dr. Yunus will host an iftar and dinner reception in honor of the UN Secretary-General, who will be in attendance. Guterres will then depart Bangladesh the following day.

During the press briefing, Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam highlighted the significance of this visit, noting that it marks Guterres’ second trip to Bangladesh, the first being in 2018. He emphasized that Dr. Yunus considers resolving the Rohingya crisis a priority. The government believes that this visit will bring renewed global attention to the issue, and it hopes that the UN Secretary-General will deliver a meaningful message regarding the crisis.