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US Under Secretary of State Stephen E. Beagan arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday to discuss cooperation between Bangladesh and the United States in fighting Covid-19, recovery efforts and sustainable economic development.
Arriving at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after a three-day visit to New Delhi, India, Secretary of State Masood bin Momen welcomed the US Under Secretary of State.
An official said Earl Miller, the US ambassador to Bangladesh, was also present.
Began is scheduled to hold a meeting with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, M Shahriar Alam, at a hotel in the city on Wednesday night.
Also, he said Thursday morning. After meeting AK Abdul Momen, he will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at noon, a senior official said.
He is scheduled to meet the prime minister in Ganobhaban at 12 noon on Thursday.
During the talks, Began will reaffirm the partnership between Bangladesh and the United States.
According to the Office of the State Department Spokesperson, the visit of the United States Assistant Secretary of State will focus on cooperation between the United States and Bangladesh in the fight against COVID-19, as well as the common goals of the two countries in the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS).
Earlier Monday, Began met with Indian Foreign Minister S Jayashankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Sringlar.
Bangladesh’s priority
During the US official’s visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh will raise the issue of the Rohingya and seek greater global support for the speedy repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar, especially the United States.
Foreign Minister. “It is a global responsibility,” Abdul Momen said. The Rohingya must return to Myanmar.
“The Rohingya are not the sole responsibility of Bangladesh, it is a global responsibility and Bangladesh will raise the issue,” he said.
Bangladesh is not interested in humanitarian assistance. “It’s a part, but not the central part,” Momen said. The Rohingya must return to Myanmar. This is the main thing for us.
Attempts to repatriate the Rohingya failed twice in November 2016 and August 2019 due to a “lack of trust” in the Myanmar government.
Bangladesh and Myanmar signed the repatriation agreement on November 23, 2016.
IPS and Bangladesh
Monday. Momen said that the US side would talk about the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) and Bangladesh has no problem.
He said Bangladesh will also seek investment in infrastructure development and visa matters during the talks.
Dr. “We have no objection to IPS in the United States, but the United States must move forward to develop the infrastructure here for IPS to be effective,” Momen said.
The Foreign Minister said that if they (the United States) really want to help Bangladesh, they can help the American market for the next three years with duty-free access to Bangladeshi Ready-Made Garments (RMG).
United States Under Secretary of State Stephen E. Beagan will depart Dhaka on October 17.
