Election roadmap after reform commissions submit proposals: Touhid

The election roadmap will be prepared after the reform commissions submit their proposals, Foreign Adviser Md Tauhid Hossain said today (1 October).

"The interim government will not remain for longer than the period required for the reforms," the adviser told reporters at a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka this afternoon.

The interim government last month formed six reform commissions, which will submit their reports by December. 

The foreign adviser also said Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are likely to have a meeting on the sidelines of the Bimstec Summit which is expected to take place next month in Bangkok, Thailand.

There was no meeting between Dr Yunus and Modi during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, as the two leaders' schedules did not align, officials said.

Modi left the United States before Dr Yunus's arrival in New York.

The chief adviser was scheduled to attend the Bimstec Summit which was originally scheduled for 4 September but was later postponed.

The new date is yet to be announced but the chief adviser will attend the summit.

Thailand will host the next summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec). Bangladesh will take responsibility as the next chair of Bimstec there.

Secretary General of the Bimstec Indra Mani Pandey recently said the next summit will have some significant outcomes and it will set a direction for Bimstec future.

The Bimstec secretary general hoped the upcoming summit would add a new vigour to regional cooperation within Bimstec.

"I believe Bimstec has a bright future. All the members are truly committed to making sure Bimstec becomes a success story," he said while making a presentation on Bimstec activities at its headquarters in Dhaka recently.

The summit will adopt a Bangkok Vision 2030 which would be an overarching kind of document and give direction to the organisation, he said, adding that it would be one of the significant outcomes.

Bimstec brings together seven countries in South and Southeast Asia for multifaceted cooperation.

Speaking at today's press briefing, Touhid also said due to security reasons, the activities of the Bangladesh Embassy in Lebanon have been temporarily moved to another place due to the situation caused by Israel's attack on Lebanon.

The advisor said the decision to evacuate Bangladeshi citizens from Lebanon has not yet been taken, and some initial talks have been held with the International Organization for Migration in this regard. 

There are about 100,000 Bangladeshi workers in Lebanon.