BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman on Thursday evening entered the state guest house Jamuna with his family to pay a courtesy call on Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus.

Tarique arrived at Jamuna at around 7:30pm. Earlier, he left the BNP chairperson’s office in Gulshan at 6:42pm and went to his residence, from where he departed for Jamuna with his family at 6:52pm.

Earlier in the afternoon, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul told a briefing at the Foreign Service Academy that Tarique Rahman would meet the Chief Adviser with his family as part of a courtesy call, stressing that the meeting carries no political agenda.

This will be the first formal meeting between Prof Yunus and Tarique Rahman in Bangladesh since the latter’s return home.

The two last met in person on June 13 last year in London during Prof Yunus’s visit to the UK. That meeting took place at the Dorchester Hotel, when Tarique Rahman was serving as BNP’s acting chairman, and was followed by a joint statement from representatives of both sides.

After spending 17 years in exile in the UK, Tarique returned to Bangladesh on December 25. Upon arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, he spoke with Prof Yunus over the phone while waiting at the VIP lounge.

A brief interaction between the two also took place on December 31 during the namaz-e-janaza of BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at the Jatiya Sangsad complex, following her death on December 30.

Tarique Rahman was elected BNP chairman on January 9 through a unanimous decision of the party’s highest policymaking body, the National Standing Committee. Thursday’s meeting marks his first engagement with the Chief Adviser in his capacity as BNP chairman.