Staff Reporter :
The United States Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau, Donald Lu, arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday morning.
Khandker Masudul Alam, Director General (North America) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, welcomed Donald Lu on his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. The US Ambassador to Dhaka, Peter Haas, was also present at that time.
Donald Lu has come to Dhaka for an official visit to be held on May 14–16.
During his stay in Bangladesh, he will meet with government officials, civil society leaders, and other Bangladeshis to talk about deepening Bangladesh-US cooperation.
The issues, including deepening the economic ties in ways that the two countries can collaborate further to address climate issues, will also be discussed in those meetings.
Donald Lu’s visit is part of his tri-nation tour of the region. He had earlier visited India and Sri Lanka.
This is also the first visit of the US Assistant Secretary of State to Bangladesh after the Awami League won the January 7 elections.
“He is there to strengthen bilateral cooperation with each country and to demonstrate US support for a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” principal deputy spokesperson at the US Department of State Vedant Patel said from Washington.
Donald Lu will sit with foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen in a bilateral meeting at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, and a courtesy meeting with foreign minister Hasan Mahmud will be held at 3 p.m. on the same day.
On Tuesday, PM’s Adviser Salman F. Rahman will host a dinner in honour of Donald Lu and his delegation at his residence, a senior official said.
Apart from these, Lu will meet environment, forest, and climate change minister Sabre Hossain Chowdhury on Wednesday.
Early on Thursday morning, Lu will leave Dhaka for Washington, DC.