[🇧🇩] The U.S.A.---A Strategic Partner of Bangladesh

[Saif]

US pvt sector can boost Bangladesh’s growth: embassy

American private sector can help unlock Bangladesh’s growth potential through trade and investment with the right economic reforms in place, said the US embassy in Dhaka on Saturday...

www.newagebd.net

US pvt sector can boost Bangladesh’s growth: embassy
United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka 14 September, 2024, 17:20

Assistant secretary for international finance at the US Department of the Treasury Brent Neiman, US Treasury Department director Jerrod Mason, US Embassy Dhaka chargé d’affaires (ad interim) Helen LaFave, American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh president Syed Ershad Ahmed and vice-president Eric M Walker, among others, are present at a meeting at a hotel in the capital Dhaka on Saturday. | Focus Bangla photo

American private sector can help unlock Bangladesh’s growth potential through trade and investment with the right economic reforms in place, said the US embassy in Dhaka on Saturday.

From energy security to data centres to transportation, US businesses play a positive role in many facets of Bangladesh’s economy, said the embassy after a trade and investment related discussion.

Assistant secretary for international finance at the US Department of the Treasury Brent Neiman, US Treasury Department director Jerrod Mason, chargé d’affaires (ad interim), US Embassy Dhaka Helen LaFave, political/economic counsellor, US Embassy Dhaka Eric Geelan and mission director, US Agency for International Development Reed Aeschliman, joined the meeting representing the US side.

American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh president Syed Ershad Ahmed, vice-president Eric M Walker, MetLife in Bangladesh chief executive officer Ala Uddin Ahmad, country manager of Mastercard Syed Mohammad Kamal and country manager of GE Nowshad Ali were also present, a meeting source told UNB.

Earlier on Saturday morning, US assistant secretary Brent Neiman arrived in Dhaka to lead a US delegation to discuss issues pertaining to bilateral relations.

He was received at the airport by Khandker Masudul Alam, DG (North America) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka.

Bangladesh looks forward to have a ‘multi-dimensional’ discussion as it welcomed the first US delegation after the formation of the interim government led by chief adviser Muhammad Yunus on August 8.

‘The arrival of the first team of the United States (during this tenure) is a great reflection of the importance they attach to the relationship with Bangladesh. This implies that this discussion will be multi-dimensional; it will not be limited to just one topic,’ said foreign secretary Md Jashim Uddin on Thursday.

The US delegation will meet chief adviser Muhammad Yunus on Sunday morning, a senior official told UNB. They will also meet foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain and finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed apart from their other engagement.

Foreign secretary Jashim will host a working lunch where representatives from the relevant ministries will attend.

‘US and Bangladeshi officials will discuss how the United States can support Bangladesh’s economic growth, financial stability, and development needs,’ a spokesperson at the US Department of State said.

‘I don’t want to make any kind of comments before the discussion starts, which would undermine the normality of the discussion,’ said the foreign secretary when asked about the specific agenda.

US assistant secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian affairs Donald Lu, who is now visiting New Delhi, will travel to Bangladesh soon as part of the delegation.

Responding to a question, foreign secretary Jashim said that the government wanted to move to a mutually beneficial relationship with everyone.

The people of Bangladesh have historically had an interest in international affairs, he added.

Throughout his trip, assistant secretary Lu will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to supporting ‘our partners’ economic growth and promoting stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region.’

In Dhaka, Lu will join an interagency delegation for meetings with the Bangladeshi interim government.

The senior-level US delegation will discuss ways with the interim government to take forward the relations between the two countries in a changed political scenario.

Any visit by the US delegation is always important, foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The foreign affairs adviser said that they would discuss issues which were achievable and stressed that US visa policy would not affect the relations between the two countries.​

 

[Saif]

BD, US to sign agreement during visit of US treasury delegation

Bangladesh and the US will sign a Development Objective Agreement during the visit of the US high level delegation. foreign ministry sources said. The US delegation which will hold talks with various government departments on financial and development support issues arrived in the morning

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

BD, US to sign agreement during visit of US treasury delegation
Undersecretary Neiman, Asst Secretary Lu in Dhaka

FE ONLINE REPORT
Published :
Sep 14, 2024 20:26
Updated :
Sep 14, 2024 20:26

Bangladesh and the US will sign a Development Objective Agreement during the visit of the US high level delegation. foreign ministry sources said.

The US delegation which will hold talks with various government departments on financial and development support issues arrived in the morning on Saturday.

Brent Neiman, deputy under secretary for International Finance at the Department of the Treasury is leading this team, which also includes representatives from the US Department of the Treasury, USAID, and the Office of the US Trade Representative.

US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, arrived in Dhaka yesterday afternoon, following his three-day visit to India. He will be with the delegation till Sunday.

They had a meeting with a Bangladesh business delegation in the afternoon.

“From energy security to data centers to transportation, US businesses play a positive role in many facets of Bangladesh’s economy! With the right economic reforms in place, the American private sector can help unlock Bangladesh’s growth potential through trade and investment” a spokesperson of the US Embassy said after the meeting.

A US Department of State spokesperson stated that discussions will focus on how the United States can support Bangladesh’s economic growth, financial stability, and development needs.

This is the first visit by any US delegation to Dhaka since the interim government, led by Prof Muhammad Yunus, took charge after the fall of the Awami League government.

Bangladesh will discuss issues related to financial and development assistance, with the high level US delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu.

Commenting on the visit foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain said that Bangladesh will seek US assistance during the discussion but the forms of the assistance will be determined by the finance ministry.

The foreign secretary will led the Bangladesh side in the bilateral meeting between the two countries.

The US Treasury delegation will meet separately with concerned departments of Bangladesh.​

 

[Bilal9]

The United States is providing $200 million in aid to the priority sectors of the interim government for the development of Bangladesh. Anjali Kaur, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the United States International Aid Agency-USAID, announced this payment under the development cooperation agreement at Rashtriya (National) Guest House Padma on September 15.

 

[Saif]

US support for trade and investment

As the first ever visit by any foreign diplomats to Bangladesh following the political changeover at its helm, a high-powered multi-agency U.S. delegation met the leaders of the interim government headed by Chief Adviser Dr Yunus on September 15 last. Considering the composition of the visiting del

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

US support for trade and investment
Published :
Sep 17, 2024 22:12
Updated :
Sep 17, 2024 22:12

Flags of Bangladesh and the United States are seen cross-pinned in this photo symbolising friendship between the two nations

As the first ever visit by any foreign diplomats to Bangladesh following the political changeover at its helm, a high-powered multi-agency U.S. delegation met the leaders of the interim government headed by Chief Adviser Dr Yunus on September 15 last. Considering the composition of the visiting delegation which included the Deputy Under Secretary for International Finance and Development at the US Treasury Department, Brent Neiman, and the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asia, Donald Lu, it is plain that the US wants to see the interim government of Bangladesh succeed and prosper. Small wonder that the USAID (US agency for foreign aid) promptly responded to the CA's request to the US government for financial assistance by extending a grant of over US$200 million to carry through its (interim government's) development agenda that include development, youth empowerment, strengthening democracy and governance. The agreement clearly highlights the interim government's development focus which prioritises inclusive growth and prosperity for all. This undoubtedly is a good augury for the weeks-old interim government of Bangladesh.

As the interim government has inherited all the social and economic ills left by the fallen government, which, while discussing with the US delegates, the CA termed an 'ocean of corruption', the enormous challenges facing this administration cannot be overstated. Needless to say, the interim government sought US support for carrying out the reforms of the judiciary, the police, the civil administration, anti-corruption commission, and the effort to retrieve the country's stolen assets from abroad. However, these are all internal issues that need urgent addressing to pave the way for establishing good governance. Bangladesh can amply benefit from the US's centuries old rich experience in this regard. For instance, in getting back the money siphoned off from the country to the US, Canada and different European destinations, the US support can play a critical role.

The deliverability of these efforts at various reforms and recovering stolen assets from abroad will certainly see a qualitative improvement with external technical support. But the most important issue that remains to be addressed is repatriation of more than a million Rohingya refugees to their ancestral homeland in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. Notably, these victims of genocide in neighbouring Myanmar escaped with their lives to Bangladesh. It may be recalled that the first phase of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population began in October 2016 and continued till January 2017, while the second phase started in August 2017 and has been continuing sporadically since. As a consequence, no repatriation effort succeeded so far. Worse yet, fresh waves of Rohingya are entering Bangladesh from time to time. This is too much for Bangladesh's fragile economy to sustain. Bangladesh's development partners including the US should help Bangladesh in resolving the festering Rohingya repatriation issue. Hopefully, Dr Yunus with his global acceptability, especially in the US, may use his goodwill to find a lasting solution to the problem.

Various reform agenda aside, the most important support Bangladesh can have from the US is for trade and investment. In this connection, Bangladesh should try to get zero-tariff access for all its exports to the USA. At the same time, more investment from US entrepreneurs in the country's major sectors particularly the energy and IT can contribute significantly to the country's economic growth.​

 

[Krishna with Flute]

The same comments apply to India as well.

Many in Indian media are saying that the ouster of Hasina was a US plot.

Modi thinking that he was so important that he can meddle in Bangladesh, has been proven quite wrong now.

Next on US agenda is independence of Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur if not all seven sisters. Without any approval of India, I might add.

Americans throw India a few favors in terms of Backoffice business and Indian politicians start thinking they matter in geopolitics. A fool's errand.

That is very true. Even Jayshankar said that Partner is not the terminology we use when he was asked the question on India buying oil from Russia and its impact on US India partnership. So I agree with you that we are not partner of US. BD may try that and see the result. Each and every country who has a passion of becoming partner with US has ended up being satellite state of US. An another partner of US, Pakistan did not get atta when it was in food crisis from its partner US. On other hand we rescued Srilanka when they were in crisis by giving them 4 Bn USD. Giving them fertilizer when its time tested friend China supply them with fertilizer with harmful chemicals. We gave 2 million dosages of corona vaccine to BD totally free.

After facing harsh realities of spoiling relation with India, there has been a change of heart in many Pakistanis. What you unwilling to learn in peaceful way, nature will teach the same in harsh way. Wait for that. I fore see BD guys remembering and praising Hasina and the progress under her regime in couple of years.

 

[Saif]

We gave 2 million dosages of corona vaccine to BD totally free.

India didn't even supply BD the corona vaccine timely for which they were paid for. BD paid India in advance to get the corona vaccine at the soonest. But India delayed the supply of the vaccine to put BD at a precarious position. Giving BD 2 million dosages of corona vaccine for free is your figment of imagination. But Maldives provided BD with 2 hundred thousand dosages of corona vaccine for free. Long live BD Maldives friendship.

 

[Krishna with Flute]

India didn't even supply BD the corona vaccine timely for which they were paid for. BD paid India in advance to get the corona vaccine at the soonest. But India delayed the supply of the vaccine to put BD at a precarious position. Giving BD 2 million dosages of corona vaccine for free is your figment of imagination. But Maldives provided BD with 2 hundred thousand dosages of corona vaccine for free. Long live BD Maldives friendship.

We provided 2 million dosage of vaccine free to BD. When epidemic exploded in horrible way, we could not provide our people with vaccine in time inspite of 10 million dosage production per day but ultimately we provided BD with vaccine.

Anyway, why did you not buy same from other country?