Bangladesh
Bangladesh-US US delegation will not focus only on polls: Foreign Secretary
Dhaka, July 7: Foreign Secretary Masood Bin Momen said the upcoming high-level visit of the US delegation is not only focused on Bangladesh elections, but is part of the ongoing bilateral engagement between Dhaka and Washington.
"It would not be wise to think that this visit is only focused on our elections," he told reporters at the Foreign Ministry on Thursday. "But yes, elections can come into the discussion as a factor, we are not ruling out the factor."
The US delegation led by Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Azra Jaya will visit Bangladesh from July 11 to 14. Masud said, "This visit is a continuation of various processes going on between Bangladesh and the United States. Human rights, Rohingya repatriation, trade, labor and other issues of mutual interest will also come up for discussion."
The delegation will also include Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for the US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and Anjali Kaur, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Asian Affairs, USAID.
The Secretary of State said, "Jaya is a relatively senior US official and his scope of work is quite extensive."
Recently there have been several visits from Washington to Dhaka. In March, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and Donald Luo visited Bangladesh earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the Director General (Additional Duties) of the Public Diplomacy Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Rafiqul Alam said in the weekly press conference of the Ministry that the visit of the US delegation led by Azra Jaya is mainly an effort to advance the friendly relations between the two countries and strengthen the communication between the two countries.
He also said that the US delegation will visit the Rohingya camp in addition to their engagement in Dhaka.
