Momen, Blinken to meet in Washington on April 4

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen is scheduled to have an in-person bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington on April 4 to discuss security, defence, and trade issues.
Foreign Ministry observed that the dialogue is an opportunity to address the aftermath of the sanctions and related issues through a delicate, well-thought-out and comprehensive strategy.
"Dhaka will try to remove the gaps that are there in the bilateral relations," Foreign Minister Dr
AK Abdul Momen recently said adding that "we were thinking that as Bangladesh is a friend, they would let us know so that we could take corrective measures."
Bangladesh needs to remain closely engaged with the US through legal and other measures to convince it to lift the sanctions. Plans to clarify the efforts Bangladesh is making for the promotion and protection of human rights-related discourses, showcased the progress made in realizing the commitments of the government in areas of media freedom and labour law, Bangladesh's law enforcement agencies' success in curbing terrorism, transnational crimes like human and drug trafficking as well as violence against women, children and minorities will be highlighted in the meeting, Foreign Ministry said.
"We believe that the sanctions are unjustifiable, and were imposed based on fabricated and politically motivated inputs given by the vested quarters," Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said.
With the political objective to "malign and discredit" Bangladesh, the Foreign Secretary said, vested quarters at home and abroad have remained engaged in anti-government campaigns in Washington DC and other major capitals for years. However, the pandemic situation also created a gap between the two sides in terms of not having regular dialogues and meetings, he added.