US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas on Tuesday said his country "looks forward to growing its defence cooperation" with Bangladesh in addition to deepening ties between the two countries on key fronts.
“I’m excited about the possibilities for collaboration on the economy, development, public health, security, and climate change,” the ambassador said as he met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban in Dhaka.
They discussed Bangladesh’s successes and the two countries’ strong bilateral partnership over the past 50 years.
“We set the stage for our nations’ next 50 years of ties,” said the US Embassy quoting Ambassador Haas.
The ambassador and the prime minister discussed the 50 years of partnership between Bangladesh and the United States, and ways the countries can deepen this partnership.
They highlighted the shared achievements over the 50 years of positive bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United States and discussed ways to deepen the partnership between the two countries.
“We discussed our cooperation on a range of topics, including economic development, security, climate change, Rohingya refugee assistance, and Covid-19,” Ambassador Haas said.
He acknowledged Bangladesh’s remarkable economic progress, its leadership on climate change, its generosity in sheltering Rohingyas, and its tremendous contribution to global peacekeeping operations.
Ambassador Haas reaffirmed the United States’ continued support for Rohingyas and Bangladeshi host communities.
“During our meeting, I told the prime minister that I think one of our proudest joint achievements was in how we worked together to respond to the Covid-19 crisis,” said Ambassador Haas.
“I commend Bangladesh’s effort to vaccinate over 70 per cent of its entire population” he added.
The United States has donated nearly 88 million Covid vaccine doses, contributed over $140 million in Covid related development and humanitarian assistance, and collaborated closely with Bangladesh to distribute this assistance throughout the country.
