Biden writes to Hasina: US committed to help Bangladesh’s economic goals
Staff Reporter :
US President Joe Biden has written to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressing his willingness to work together to achieve Bangladesh’s economic goals.
He also expressed willingness to partnering with Bangladesh on their shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“The United States is committed to supporting Bangladesh’s ambitious economic goals and partnering with Bangladesh on our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” President Biden said in his letter on Sunday.
As the two countries embark on the next chapter of the US-Bangladesh partnership, the US President said he wants to convey the sincere desire of his Administration to continue their work together on regional and global security, economic development, climate change and energy, global health, humanitarian support, especially for Rohingya refugees, and more.
“We have a long and successful history of working together to solve problems, and our strong people-to-people ties are the foundation of this relationship,” he wrote.
The Embassy of the United States of America shared the letter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
The letter, however, did not mention anything about the 12th parliamentary election as the US government has been continuing its reservations on the poll, saying that the poll was not free and fair.
They, however, said that they would continue their engagement in various areas as they do with other countries.
The State Department on Thursday said that they would work with the government the ‘shared priorities’ in the days to come.
Even on January 30, Mathew Miller in the press briefing reiterated concerns about the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh before.
“We did not find them to be free and fair. We have also expressed our concerns with the arrest of thousands of political opposition members in the run-up to those elections,” he said.
Urging the government, he said, “We urge the Bangladeshi Government to ensure a fair and transparent legal process for all of the arrested individuals.”
“We also urge the Bangladeshi Government to allow opposition members and media professionals, civil society representatives, to participate meaningfully in the country’s democratic process and civic life, and we will continue to engage with the Bangladeshi Government to advance that point of view,” he emphasised.
