Bangladesh's relations with the United States are now set to renew and reshape in a changed political scenario under the current interim government led by Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus.
This was understood as no sooner had the interim government been formed in Bangladesh on August 8, three days after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime, the US extended its warm welcome to Dr Yunus, expressing its readiness to collaborate with his government.
Accordingly, a high-level US delegation headed by US Assistant Secretary Brent Neiman is now in Dhaka to have multi-dimensional talks with their Bangladesh counterparts on a range of issues like economics, politics and regional security. The discussions are expected to mainly focus on how the US could support Bangladesh's economic growth, financial stability and development needs.
The US delegation members are to meet Dr Yunus, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain and Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed apart from their other engagements during their visit to Dhaka.
Most importantly, the US delegation will be joined by the US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, who is now in New Delhi. He will attend an interagency delegation for meetings with the Bangladesh interim government and focus on promoting stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Lu earlier visited Dhaka on several occasions during the rule of the Awami League government when relations between the two countries were embittered on some issues. Among them, the US sanction imposed in 2021 on some members of Bangladesh's elite security agency, Rapid Action Battalion, was a tetchy one.
The US accused RAB forces of extrajudicial killings and disappearances of people but the then Bangladesh government had repeatedly denied this claim outright saying that RAB members were trained and supported by the US to curb terrorism in the region. This sanction issue was the subject of discussions on many occasions during the visits of high-ranking US government officials to Dhaka during the rule of the previous government.
Another event that had soured relations between Bangladesh and the US was the issuance of the new US visa policy for the Bangladeshi citizens who would be found to be complicit in undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh. This visa policy was enforced a few months before the January 7 parliamentary elections with the intent for a free and fair election.
Now things have changed and the US Embassy in Dhaka has confirmed that American private sector is keen to help unlock Bangladesh's growth potential through trade and investment with the right economic reforms in place adding that the US mission has been playing a positive role in promoting the economic cooperation between the two countries.
We are in belief that the partnerships between Bangladesh and the US will reach a new height on multiple spheres in years to come.
