In an acknowledgement of the country’s strong economic growth and political stability, visiting US deputy secretary of state Stephen E. Biegun has said that Washington sees Bangladesh as a ‘key partner’ in the Indo-Pacific region.
“…we’re committed to growing our partnership in this regard to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific. Bangladesh will be a centerpiece of our work in the region,” he said in a joint press briefing after his meeting with foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday.
He also informed that the US approved a new consulate of Bangladesh in Miami which will serve the ‘interest’ of both American and Bangladeshi community living there.
The foreign minister thanked the US for giving Bangladesh “top importance”.
“Good news is Bangladesh is gaining more attention due to its economic growth, stability and geo-political location,” he said. “We are thankful that the US is giving us top importance”.
Biegun arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon for a three-day visit, first of such high level visits from Washington during President Donald Trump's administration. He is the second ranking officer of the Department of State after the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The visit comes ahead of the Presidential elections on November 3.
The foreign minister is, however, sanguine. There will be no change in policies when it comes to Bangladesh even with the change of administration in the US, he said.
“This visit shows the relationship between Bangladesh and the US is becoming more and more solid. This will continue to improve. I have no doubt about it. We hope to achieve many goals.”
During the meeting at the state guesthouse Padma, they discussed a whole range of issues between the countries including Covid-19 pandemic, Rohingya crisis, trade and investment, blue economy and climate change.
The US and Bangladesh have recently agreed on a number of issues for advancing the economic partnership between the countries.
A joint statement was issued in this regard on Oct 5 after a virtual meeting convened by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Keith Krach, and Adviser for Private Industry and Investment to Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Salman F. Rahman on September 30.
Both countries shared the common vision of a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and secure Indo-Pacific region with shared prosperity for all, and expressed hope that the two countries would continue to work together to realize this vision.
“We discussed our invaluable cooperation in combating COVID-19, the impressive results that the government here in Bangladesh has achieved, and our work together on producing and rolling out important protective equipment and also medicines in the near future, ultimately with the hope of close coordination and cooperation on the distribution of vaccines once one is found to be safe and reliable,” the Deputy Secretary of State said.
“The United States looks forward to Bangladesh participating in the upcoming Indo-Pacific Business Forum, an opportunity for us to continue our discussions on economic cooperation on a bilateral and multilateral basis.
“We know that Bangladesh places a strong emphasis on the importance of private sector led growth. We have each appointed a representative to lead our governments’ engagement,” he said, referring to the meeting of Salman F. Rahman, and Under Secretary for Economics Keith Krach.
“Together they have started a process of developing a work plan that as we execute it will only deepen our economic relationship between the United States and Bangladesh,” he said.
With the new Bangladesh consulate in Miami, he said: “We look forward to broadening the official diplomatic presence of our Bangladeshi friends to serve the interests of Americans and the large Bangladeshi American community which is a robust part of American society.”
“Although the pandemic has slowed travel and created obstacles to the normal operations of our embassies as the Foreign Minister said we are looking very much forward to being able to resume operations sufficient to process the visas of students who would like to return to the universities in the United States,” he said.
“Of course, the course of this pandemic will largely dictate the ability of our students, of our countries, of our universities to be able to move forward in that regard. But I’m quite confident that there will be no obstacles to moving forward with this work after the completion of the treatment of the vaccine.”
Dr Momen sought more US investments in the infrastructure sector, particularly for a dedicated Dhaka, Chattogram rail link.
He also discussed the repatriation of Bangabandhu's killer Rashed Chowdhury.
“Self-confessed killer Rashed is residing in the US. The US should not be the home for murderers,” Dr Momen said, adding that the US Attorney General is looking into the issue.
The visiting Deputy Secretary of State also discussed the Rohingya refugee issue with the foreign minister.
“How we can work together not only to meet the needs of that population, but also to address the underlying issues so that we can get a permanent solution so that the government of Bangladesh and the people of Bangladesh do not permanently have to carry the weight of this on their own shoulders,” he said.
“The United States, of course, has been a very supportive partner. We will be raising a substantial amount of additional humanitarian assistance together as we seek to work for a more permanent solution to the resolution of that crisis,” he said.
Replying to a question, he said, the US has been “quite outspoken and used its political influence as much as possible to influence decisions inside Myanmar regarding the treatment and restoration of rights of these people.
“But I also want to emphasize that this requires a regional and a global response. All countries need to work together shoulder to shoulder,” he said.
“Of course, this is not simply the responsibility of the government of Bangladesh, as generous as that government has been. This is a global priority and one that every major country in the Indo-Pacific should be speaking with equal outspokenness to the government of Myanmar to take the steps necessary to ease this crisis.”
The Deputy Secretary of State also met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and paid respect to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangabandhu museum in Dhanmondi-32.
