Staff Correspondent

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today urged Canada to invest in Bangladesh to help rebuild the country in view of the economic mess created by the ousted autocratic regime.

He made the request when Canadian High Commissioner in Dhaka Lilly Nicholls called on him at the State Guest House Jamuna here.

Prof Yunus recalled his long relationship with Canada, including its top politicians and development agencies, and said his story has been included in the Canadian school textbooks.

He said the interim government needs Canadian support to boost economic growth in Bangladesh.

“We need big investment,” the chief adviser’s press wing quoted Prof Yunus as saying.

The chief adviser said the interim government inherited an economy, which was in total mess with a huge amount of debt being accumulated.

“Our first priority is to fix the economy,” he said. He said the government was also restoring vital institutions broken by the previous regime and was “bringing order and clarity in governance.”

During the meeting, the Canadian high commissioner said her government was ready to support the chief adviser and the interim government of Bangladesh.

Canada would be keen to boost food security in Bangladesh by supplying fertilisers and essential commodities, she added.

Nicholls said Bangladesh must ensure labour rights in factories to continue to enjoy trade preferences from the North American country.

Prof Yunus said his government would uphold labour rights “at par with the ILO (International Labour Organisation) standards” to address concerns of the brands which purchase clothing from Bangladesh and international investors.

Nicholls said Canada was also interested in supporting the UN fact-finding mission on its move to establish justice and accountability on the massacre committed in Bangladesh July and August.

Yunus said the students-led revolution has ushered in a new era of hope for the country. “These are historical opportunities. These chances may never come back,” he said.

He said important electoral reforms will be carried out before the country goes to vote. Under the previous government, “the election commission was turned into an election manipulation commission,” he said.

The Canadian envoy expressed her “deep concern” over the security situation in the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh’s southeast and escalating violence affecting the Rohingyas living in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

She said Canada has contributed more than 600 million dollars for Rohingya humanitarian responses and called for livelihood opportunities for the Rohingya people.

The Chief Adviser called for easing overcrowding in the Rohingya camps by relocating some Rohingyas from the Coz’s Bazar camps. He said his government would do its best to provide hope to the Rohingya young people.