Undersecretary for political affairs of the United States Victoria Nuland arrived in Dhaka on Saturday for the ‘partnership dialogue’ between the countries to be held on Sunday with foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen leading the Bangladesh side.
The dialogue was launched in 2012 to discuss issues of “common interests and shared goals” for strengthening bilateral relations. But this time, the 8th episode of the partnership dialogue, holds special significance for Bangladesh as it comes after the US sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite police force of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh side will raise the issue at the dialogue strongly and present evidences how the elite law enforcing unit was helping to curb terrorism and drug trafficking.
The government will also present evidence of taking a number of actions against some individuals of RAB whenever it receives complaints of human rights violations.
This is also the first of its kind dialogue between the countries after the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Undersecretary Nuland arrived in Dhaka first as part of her tri-nation visit to South Asia including India and Sri Lanka, according to the US state department.
The foreign ministry said foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen received her at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital at 5:10 pm. Other senior members of the delegation include Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Amanda Dory.
The dialogue will be held at the State Guest House Padma. After that, both secretaries will meet the press in a joint briefing.
The visiting under-secretary is also scheduled to hold a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr Ak Abdul Momen at foreign ministry.
The under-secretary will underscore U.S. commitment to, and cooperation with, Indo-Pacific partners. Under Secretary Nuland, the delegation will meet with civil society and business leaders to strengthen economic partnerships and deepen ties in the pursuit of peace, prosperity, and security in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the state department.
This forum intends to assist the two countries in finding a strategic direction for their current and future cooperative and joint efforts. Generally, a wide range of issues are being discussed in the dialogue including trade and investment, national and regional security, development and governance, among others.
During the pandemic, Bangladesh has become the largest recipient of Covid-19 vaccine doses from the US among all the countries worldwide under the COVAX mechanism.
Bangladesh has received more than 61 million vaccine doses from the US government.
Apart from donating vaccines, the US has trained healthcare providers and volunteers on proper vaccination management.
In the dialogue, both countries may plan on cooperating more in the future to tackle the pandemic.
Bangladesh has been generously hosting 1.2 million Rohingyas since 2017 when the Myanmar army conducted ‘ethnic cleansing’ against the Muslim minority Rohingyas in Rakhine state.
The government expects that the US will take proactive steps to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
The issue will also be discussed in the dialogue.
