BD-US crucial meeting in Washington Apr 10

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and his US counterpart Michael R Pompeo will discuss good governance, Rohingya refugee crisis and economic cooperation between the two countries in the bilateral meeting to be held in Washington DC next month . This will be Momen's first meeting with Pompeo.
According to the Foreign Ministry sources, the meeting is scheduled to be held on April 10 where the senior officials, including the Under Secretary (Political) and top officials of South Asian Desk will be present.
 "We are working on fixing the agendas of the high-level meeting between the two countries as this will be the maiden meeting following the general elections held on December 30, 2018," a senior official at the Foreign Ministry told the Daily Observer on Saturday.
It will be the maiden meeting of Dr Momen with US State Department. After taking the charge, Momen visited India first in February this year.
However, Bangladesh and the United States will hold a crucial political consultation on good governance as US had earlier expressed concern over 'irregularities' in the December 30 polls.
"Dhaka sent the foreign secretary to hold talks with US administration officials last month, but recently the US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo formally released the 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices which highlighted various rights issues and reported abuses and Bangladesh's last national election issues," official said adding that "Bangladesh has rejected the US State Department's 2018 country reports on human rights practices saying many things about Bangladesh mentioned in the report 'by and large' more applicable to the US rather than Bangladesh."
Apart from political discussions, Dhaka may offer defence purchases, including aircraft, from the US to boost the capability of Bangladesh military,
diplomatic sources said.
According to sources, the two sides will discuss the current state and prospects for bilateral relations and exchange views on pressing international and regional issues.
Diplomatic sources said Rohingya refugee, one of the most pressing international issues, will come up for discussion in the meeting of the two foreign ministers.
Earlier, Bangladesh had noted that the recent internal situation in Northern Rakhine was aggravating the prolonged problem. "It is the responsibility of the Myanmar authorities to create the right condition so that all the Rohingyas currently staying in Bangladesh feel safe to go back to Myanmar," it said. Bangladesh will seek US support in resolving the crisis in the upcoming meeting.
Trade and energy Bangladesh exported $5.7 billion worth of products, primarily apparel and textiles, making the United States the single largest market for Bangladeshi goods in the world. In turn, US exports to Bangladesh amounted to $1.4 billion, up 63 percent from the previous year, but still resulting in a US trade deficit of $4.2 billion.
The United States is also currently the largest source of foreign direct investment in Bangladesh. At the end of 2017, the United States accounted for 23 percent of the stock of foreign direct investment in Bangladesh. Chevron is the single largest foreign investor, producing some 55 percent of Bangladesh's domestic natural gas.
"During the bilateral meeting, we will stated that USA being Bangladesh's great friend and development partner, the present government looks forward to expanding the existing friendly ties in a multi-sectoral context. If the US investors come forward, Bangladesh will be happy to offer one of its special economic zones to them," the foreign ministry official said.