Kerry to highlight Dhaka-Washington ties

BSS . Dhaka 25 AugUST, 2016) : US secretary of state John Kerry will highlight the “longstanding and broad US-Bangladesh relationship” focussing on strengthening bilateral partnership on democracy, development, security and human rights during his Dhaka visit on 29 August.

“US secretary of state John Kerry will travel to Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 29 August to highlight the longstanding and broad US-Bangladesh relationship,” according to a US state department press release issued early in Washington on Thursday.

Secretary Kerry, who will arrive in the city on 29 August and stay here till evening, will meet with government officials to discuss growing cooperation on global issues, the release added.

He will leave Dhaka for New Delhi, India on 29 August evening for meetings with senior Indian officials.

Earlier, foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali confirmed the visit of John Kerry in Dhaka next week saying, “Yes, he (Kerry) is coming…we're very delighted.”

Talking to newsmen following a seminar at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in Dhaka on Wednesday, Mahmood Ali said that ‘all aspects of Bangladesh-US relations would be discussed during Kerry's Dhaka visit'.

The foreign minister said both sides have long been discussing the visit. “Now we're going through the preparation process for the upcoming visit”.

During his daylong hectic Dhaka visit, Kerry will call on president Md. Abdul Hamid and prime minister Sheikh Hasina, according to diplomatic sources.

He will also hold a bilateral meeting with foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali, where the entire gamut of bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United States would be discussed prominently.

The US state department press release said that on 30 August, secretary John Kerry and US commerce secretary Penny Pritzker will co-chair the second US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue (S&CD) in New Delhi.

They will join their respective Indian co-chairs, India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and state minister for commerce and industry Nirmala Sitharaman, along with members of the US delegation and their Indian counterparts, the release added.