Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken have expressed their willingness to further deepen Bangladesh-US relations by advancing common goals and mutual interests.

In a teleconference, held in Washington DC on Tuesday (Bangladesh time today), the foreign ministers agreed to work together to further strengthen bilateral relations and enhance cooperation on global issues, a foreign ministry press release said in Dhaka on Wednesday.

At the beginning of the discussion, the US secretary of state expressed his regret that he could not physically meet the Bangladesh foreign minister due to the COVID-19 health restrictions, and termed Bangladesh-US relations as a ‘growing and deep’ one.

Blinken said that the US considers Bangladesh as a ‘crucial economic’ and ‘security partner’ in Indo-Pacific region.

The US secretary of state lauded Bangladesh’s “remarkable” economic performance and noted the existing strong economic partnership between the two countries.

Dr Momen underscored the need for early deportation of Rashed Chowdhury, the convicted and self-confessed killer of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in the spirit of the shared values of establishing good governance, rule of law and justice.

He said while the Bangladesh government was working with the US Department of Justice on this issue, support from the State Department on this important matter will be greatly appreciated.

They agreed to work together on the promotion of democracy, good governance and human rights.

Momen congratulated the new US administration for upholding the democratic process with a strong popular mandate, assuming once again America’s global leadership role.

He also appreciated the new US administration’s approach of handling the COVID pandemic challenges.

He stated that Bangladesh wants to elevate its relations with the US from partnership to a strategic level through maintaining a close and sustained contact with the US leadership.

On tackling the COVID-19, the foreign minister briefed his counterpart on Bangladesh government’s effective handling of the pandemic, including the ongoing the vaccination program that have reduced the number of infection and fatality and kept the economy running.

He noted with satisfaction the excellent cooperation between the two countries in tackling COVID 19, as manifested through the US donation of high-quality ventilators and Bangladesh’s supply of 6.5 million PPEs to the US in the initial phase of the pandemic. Momen said that Bangladesh is ready to supply medical instruments, like syringes to the US.

The US secretary of state appreciated Bangladesh’s remarkable success in handling the COVID-19 pandemic situation and hoped that both the countries would be able to find newer avenues for collaboration in the post COVID-19 era by mutual support and co-operation.

Mentioning the recently held US-Bangladesh Economic Partnership Consultation, Secretary Blinken said that the consultation had created great opportunities to advance cooperation in health, energy and business sectors.

He sought favorable policy support from Bangladesh government to secure enabling business and investment climate for promoting more trade and investment between the two countries.

Source: BSS