Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on Monday said issues related to visa policy and Dhaka’s call for withdrawal of sanctions may come up for discussion during Donald Lu’s visit.
"These issues may naturally come up," he said when a reporter wanted to know whether Bangladesh will raise these issues as US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu is coming to Dhaka on May 14.
Donald will be in Bangladesh as part of his tri-nation tour of the region (May 10-15). He visited India and is currently visiting Sri Lanka.
Assistant Secretary Donald will conclude his trip in Dhaka, where he will meet with government officials, civil society leaders, and other Bangladeshis to discuss Bangladesh-US cooperation, including addressing the climate crisis and deepening economic ties, according to the US Department of State.
The foreign minister said Bangladesh maintains excellent relations with the United States and they will work together to take the relations further.
"Whoever visits Bangladesh from the US administration, we will work together to advance our relationship. There are economic relations and we have cooperation in various fields," he told reporters at the foreign ministry.
After the January 7 national election, the US in a statement on January 8 said, "Looking ahead, the United States remains committed to partnering with Bangladesh to advance our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, to supporting human rights and civil society in Bangladesh, and to deepening our people-to-people and economic ties."
In February this year, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for South Asia, US National Security Council (NSC) Eileen Laubacher, USAID Assistant Administrator of Bureau for Asia Michael Schiffer, and US Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Afreen Akhter paid a three-day visit to Bangladesh.
"There is willingness from both sides. Together, we want to create a new chapter in our relations," Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told reporters after his meeting with the US delegation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at that time.
'Padma bridge criticizers could have sought apology'
Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Monday said those who had criticized the Padma Bridge project could have sought apology to the nation, as they were proved wrong.
“Those who spoke wrong (regarding Padma bridge) during that time did neither acknowledge their mistakes nor seek apology to the nation,” he said while unveiling a book titled “Padma Bridge: An Epic Accomplishment,” edited by eminent economist Dr Qazi Khaliquzzaman at the foreign ministry.
The foreign minister said during the time, many newspapers made headlines and there were a lot of criticisms in TV talk-shows demonstrating that the Padma Bridge project is not going to be implemented.
Hasan said the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) came up with sharp criticism after World Bank’s scrapping of committed loans, reports BSS.
“How could there be corruption where no funds were released? Luckily, the Canadian court concluded that no corruption was found,” he said.
The foreign minister said that the Padma Bridge is the symbol of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s able leadership and shining example of Bangladesh’s capacity.
Former State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and Dr Khaliquzzaman also spoke at the event where a new music video of a patriotic song titled “Sonar Bangladesh Dekhte Chai”, written by Hasanuzzaman Masum and sang by singers Kishore Das, Joy Shahriar, Zakia S Kornia and Elita Karim.
The foreign minister underlined the need for a united cultural renaissance in favour of development and humanity to take forward the country and turn it into a Sonar Bangla as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“I think there is a need for a strong cultural renaissance to keep people united. My request to you all, let’s come together,” he said.
