Mark Malloch-Brown, the former President of the Open Society Foundations founded by Hungarian-born billionaire US investor George Soros, met Muhammad Yunus, the head of the interim government in Bangladesh, in Dhaka on Sunday.
"Lord Mark Malloch-Brown calls on Chief Advisor Bangladesh," Yunus' office posted on X with a photograph from the meeting.
Brown, who has also previously worked with the United Nations, World Bank and as a minister with the British government, had stepped down from his role in June 2024 following Binaifer Nowrojee's appointment as the new president of the Open Society Foundations.
Over the last few years, nonagenarian Soros has openly declared his intention to remove nationalist governments from power, including in India.
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar had referred to Soros as an "old, rich, opinionated and dangerous" person for making repeated attempts to hurt India's image and democratic structure.
Calling him a "left-winger" who has "an awful lot of money", former US National Security Advisor (NSA) John Bolton had told IANS that the controversial businessman's views should not be labelled as Washington's stand on several key issues.
"Look, Soros is a left winger in American political terms and he has an awful lot of money. He uses a lot of it in American politics and certainly there are reports that he uses a lot of it around the world also. Some reports of what he's doing are more accurate than others, but I think his overall worldview is not one that I share," Bolton told IANS in an exclusive chat in October.
Interestingly, the Brown-Yunus meeting took place just before Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is scheduled to hold Foreign Office Consultations with his Bangladesh counterpart Jashim Uddin, in Dhaka on Monday.
Relations between the two countries have nosedived over the past few months as India remains extremely concerned with the surge in extremist rhetoric, increasing incidents of violence, and provocations, especially against the Hindu community, in Bangladesh.
Earlier this week, Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had accused Yunus of being the "mastermind of mass killings" and orchestrating attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.
Addressing an Awami League event in New York virtually, Hasina slammed Yunus for allegedly targeting Hindu temples, including ISKCON sites, and other religious places of the minorities in Bangladesh.
"Today, I have been accused of mass killings. In reality, it is Muhammad Yunus who is responsible for mass killings through a deliberate plan along with his student coordinators. They are the masterminds," she had asserted.
The minorities in Bangladesh, especially Hindus, have come under a severe attack by Islamist elements in Bangladesh after the formation of the interim government in the country headed by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.
Civil Aviation Ministry issues strict instructions to DGCA to enforce chopper safety
In the wake of a tragic helicopter crash in the Gaurikund area of Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Sunday issued strict instructions to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to enforce all safety protocols related to chopper operations in hilly and sensitive areas like the Kedarnath valley.
‘Harming Indians will invite punishment’, HM Shah on Op Sindoor
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that through the anti-terror Operation Sindoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a strong message across the world that the bloodshed of Indians will invite punishment.
Dassault CEO trashes Pakistan's claims on downing Rafale jets
Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier has dismissed as "factually incorrect" Pakistan’s claims about having shot down three Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force during Operation Sindoor.
Tripura BJP stages protest over vandalism at Tagore's ancestral home in B'desh
Ruling BJP in Tripura on Saturday staged state-wide protests along the Bangladesh border, protesting the recent attack and vandalism of the ancestral home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in the neighbouring country.
Two new earthworm species unearthed in Tripura
In a major breakthrough for ecological science in Northeast India, two new species of earthworms—Kanchuria tripuraensis and Kanchuria priyasankari—have been formally identified in Tripura.
CM calls for mass awareness on voluntary blood donation
Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha today urged to create massive awareness campaigns about the benefits of voluntary blood donation to encourage more people to donate blood.
Tripura has begun experimental soilless hydroponic farming: Minister
The Tripura government has experimentally started the hydroponics method of cultivation without any soil, the state’s agriculture minister Ratan Lal Nath said here on Friday.
Assam Rifles seized cannabis worth Rs 30 lakh from Tripura
In a swift and decisive operation against narcotics smuggling, Assam Rifles, in close coordination with representatives of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), successfully seized approximately 195 kg of marijuana from the general area of Taranagar, Agartala during the early hours of 12 June.