Bangladesh today sought support from foreign friends to bring back hundreds of billions of stolen money as Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus spent a busy day at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Chief Adviser met Wolfgang Schmidt, Head of the Federal Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Tasks, Federal Chancellery of Germany; King Philippe, King of Belgium; Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand; Ignazio Cassis, Federal Councilor, Federal Department for Foreign Affairs, Switzerland; Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, United Arab Emirates; UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres; Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, Former US Special Envoy on Climate Change, John Kerry, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, among others, on his second day at the WEF.

Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder briefed reporters about the outcomes of the meetings.

Chief Adviser Prof Yunus urged the global leaders to send top experts, think tanks, journalists, and international organisations to Bangladesh to dig into how the plain and daylight robbery was committed in Bangladesh during Sheikh Hasina’s corrupt 16-year-long rule.

Luffey Siddiqi, Special Envoy to Chief Adviser; Lamiya Morshed, principal secretary on SDG affairs; and Tareq Ariful Islam, Bangladesh permanent representative in Geneva; were among others present at the meetings.

Lutfey Siddiqi briefed German minister Wolfgang Schmidt regarding the government’s efforts in recovering the stolen money and said the government had formed an Asset Recovery Committee and a Taskforce headed by the Bangladesh Bank governor in this regard.

He said the government had targeted the top 20 money launderers initially to recover their stolen money.

Highlighting the interim government’s efforts to build a corruption-free Bangladesh, Chief Adviser Prof Yunus told the German minister, “When we talk about new Bangladesh, we also talk about clean Bangladesh.”

The Chief Adviser sought German support to this effect and also discussed potential fields of economic cooperation with the German minister.

The German minister said a new German business delegation will visit Bangladesh in April.

Prof Yunus said Bangladesh intends to create an economic platform, also involving India, Nepal, and Bhutan, to explore the hydroelectric potential of Nepal.

“Nepal is really ready to sell, and Bangladesh is a good market. It can create a lot of jobs and lessen dependence on fossil fuels,” he said.

The Chief Adviser also discussed elaborately with Swiss Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis regarding the issues of mutual interests, including economic cooperation and climate financing.

He requested Switzerland to support Bangladesh in its carbon retention efforts in the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans.

He also urged Switzerland to invest in Bangladesh to cash in on the potentials of Bangladesh’s youth, with young people under 27 years making up half the country’s population.

The Chief Adviser briefed the global leaders about the reform plans of Bangladesh’s interim government and the plan for the next general election.

In his meeting with the German minister and Swiss councillor, he also discussed Bangladesh’s energy security.

During his meeting with Belgium King Philippe and Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, the Chief Adviser was informed how a microcredit programme launched by a group headed by a Belgian prince helped expand the size of tropical forest reserves in the African country.

Prince Emmanuel de Merode, whose group launched microcredit in Congolese conflict-prone areas, said the Congolese forest was now double the size of Britain after conflict microcredit created 21,000 jobs there—some 11 percent of them are former combatants.

He said microcredit programmes have played a big role in bringing peace to parts of the region.

The Chief Adviser also discussed with Thailand Prime Minister Shinawatra the Rohingya crisis and areas of economic cooperation, including shipping.

“We want to resolve the Rohingya crisis quickly as more and more Rohingyas are coming to Bangladesh,” said the Chief Adviser.

Shinawatra, one of the youngest Prime Ministers in the world, expressed her interest in increasing youth engagement between the two countries following the July revolution in Bangladesh.

Prof Yunus said the father of the Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, was a big fan of microcredit and social businesses.

The Chief Adviser briefed the Thai premier about the Three Zero ideas, which he said aimed at rescuing a self-destructive civilisation by reducing poverty, wealth concentration, unemployment, and carbon emissions.

Prof Yunus told Shinawatra that currently there are about 5000 Three Zero clubs in 58 countries of the world.

The Thai Prime Minister said the BIMSTEC summit will be held in Bangkok in April this year.