Bangladesh's relations with the United States are now set to reach a new height. This new entente has come after President Joe Biden extended an unflinching support to the Bangladesh's interim government headed by Prof Muhammad Yunus who took over as the Chief Adviser of the interim government on August 8, three days after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in the wake of an uprising led by students.
In a rare tete-a-tete, first time in the history of Bangladesh that a US President conferred with the head of the Bangladesh government on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Joe Biden assured Dr Yunus of the fullest US support and cooperation in the transition and rebuilding of Bangladesh. This is a clear message for Bangladesh in a changed political scenario.
After this high-level meeting, it is easy to assume that the US is signaling not just bilaterally or regionally, but to the world at large that it is standing by Bangladesh during the period of transformation it is going through.
All this suggests that a new strategic partnership that emerged out of this meeting would strengthen the ties between Bangladesh and the US on all fronts though both countries have already been working closely on a number of issues including labour sector reforms and the Rohingya crisis.
During the UNGA, Rohingya issue was also in focus when Dr Yunus in a high-level discussion sought global attention to the prolonged crisis, citing a warning that it might put the entire region in trouble besides Bangladesh.
Dr Yunus came up with a set of proposals to solve the Rohingya crisis. He urged international community to re-visit the approach to the issue and called on the UN Secretary General to convene an all stakeholders' conference to review the overall situation of the crisis and suggest innovative and forward looking solutions.
He also stressed that the Joint Response Plan managed jointly by the UN System and Bangladesh needs to be energized with a further political push in view of the sliding funding situation for Rohingyas.
Most importantly, Dr Yunus said the international community should seriously support the justice and accountability mechanism to address genocidal crimes committed against the Rohingya community by the Myanmar military junta.
Meanwhile, the good news is that the US in the UNGA side event announced nearly $199 million in new assistance for Rohingya refugees and communities hosting them in Bangladesh and the region. However, the US government has provided more than $2.5 billion for the regional Rohingya response since August 2017, including more than $2.1 billion in Bangladesh.
We are in view that with the good omens in sight for growing relationships between the two countries in the years to come, the US funding for Rohingyas and its support for rebuilding a new Bangladesh will continue to rise.
