Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Sunday sought Indonesia’s support for Bangladesh’s membership in Asean, also urging the Southeast Asian country to create more opportunities for Bangladeshi businesses.
The chief adviser made the call when Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh Heru Hartanto Subolo paid him a farewell visit at his office in Tejgaon, Dhaka.
“I hope Indonesia will help us get the membership of Asean. This is very important for us,” Yunus told the ambassador.
The chief adviser said he also discussed the issue with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during the latter’s recent visit to Bangladesh, as the country is set to assume the chair of Asean in January.
Subolo conveyed his country’s support for Bangladesh’s interim government and said Indonesia will closely follow Bangladesh’s application to become an Asean member.
“Indonesia stands ready to support Bangladesh in all possible ways. Hopefully, it will be beneficial for both countries,” he said.
Yunus recalled his multiple visits to Indonesia to promote microcredit and said that from his experience he found a very thin presence of Bangladeshi businesses in Indonesia.
“One thing is regrettable that there are not many Bangladeshis in Indonesia. They are everywhere but not in Indonesia,” said the chief adviser.
“Indonesia is the largest Muslim country. But the people of the country are not much aware of Bangladesh. Somehow we are not interacting much. We must find a way to bring us closer,” he said.
He also urged Indonesia to enrol more Bangladeshi students in their universities, hire more Bangladeshi doctors, and import pharmaceutical items from Bangladesh.
Subolo promised to work on increasing business cooperation between Bangladesh and Indonesia.
He expressed satisfaction with the signing of an MoU between Pertamina Power Indonesia and Coal Generation Company Bangladesh Limited concerning the Solar PV investment project in Matarbari and other areas in July.
The chief adviser congratulated Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on assuming office and invited him to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time.