Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus met with his long-time friend and former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The two reminisced about past collaborations, including Thaksin’s visit to Bangladesh in 2001 after becoming Prime Minister, where he was inspired by Yunus’s Grameen Bank model to launch a similar microcredit initiative in Thailand. They discussed the potential resumption of direct flights between Chiang Mai and Chattogram—a route that once took only an hour. Thaksin recalled traveling on the inaugural flight with former PM Khaleda Zia. Yunus sought Thaksin’s support for Bangladesh’s bid to join ASEAN and emphasized the importance of Thai cooperation in resolving the Rohingya crisis.