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US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu is visiting Bangladesh again. He is coming to Dhaka on a two-day visit on Tuesday (May 14). The discussion with Donald Lu will not be at the political level, but at the official level. During this visit, he will discuss various issues of priority of the two countries including business and investment, security, defense, climate change, civil rights at the public and private level. However, there is much speculation in the political arena surrounding his visit this time.
This is the first visit by a high-ranking US State Department official since the January 7 election. Lu has visited Bangladesh four times so far. Before this, he last visited Bangladesh in July last year. At that time, he came to Dhaka accompanied by US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Azra Jaya. The visit was focused on various activities including Bangladesh elections and US visa policy.
Foreign Ministry sources said that government officials and civil society are also on the list of meetings during Donald Lu's visit. He will stay for two days on May 14 and 15. According to the website of the US State Department, Donald Lu is coming to Bangladesh after visiting India and Sri Lanka. Washington hopes that bilateral relations between the United States and the countries will be strengthened through his visit. The free, free and prosperous Indo-Pacific region that the United States wants to see will be the focus of Donald Lure's visit. According to the information of the US State Department, Donald Lu will discuss the climate crisis and strengthening bilateral economic relations in addition to cooperation between the two countries during his visit to Dhaka.
The US diplomat will sit in a bilateral meeting with Foreign Secretary Masood Bin Momen. The secretary said that various aspects of advancing the relationship with the United States will be discussed.
He said that this will be his first visit after the formation of the new government. The picture that was there before the elections, the picture now is completely different. Because the new government has been formed. A stable government. The government is carrying out regular activities. We are advancing relations with different countries. So all countries want to associate with us.
Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud said that the issues like ban on RAB and visa policy will be discussed about the differences between Dhaka and Washington. The Foreign Minister is also hopeful that Donald Lu's visit will strengthen economic relations.
Donald Lu will attend a dinner hosted by Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F. Rahman on the first day of his visit to Dhaka. On Wednesday, the second day of the visit, he will first have a bilateral meeting with Environment, Forest and Climate Change Affairs Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury and later with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen. Donald Lu will also interact with civil society representatives during the visit.
Meanwhile, the political arena of the country has become active around this visit of Donald Lu. Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said in a press conference at Awami League President Sheikh Hasina's political office in the capital's Dhanmondi on Monday (May 13) afternoon that there is no reason to think that BNP will once again spread tension with the help of America. Not thinking about who is coming here. Israel does not listen to their president. We are the government elected by the people, who are we afraid of? US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu is coming to Bangladesh to further the relationship between the two countries. We will see the implementation of what US President Joe Biden says in the letter sent to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
On the other hand, after the party's Liaison Committee meeting at the BNP Chairperson's office in Gulshan in the afternoon, Nazrul Islam Khan said, “There is nothing wrong with the arrival of US senior official Donald Lu in Bangladesh.” His coming is not important to us. The government failed to control the behavior of cookie china. Lu is a long way off. We are concerned about the state of the country. People of Bangladesh have solved all their problems by themselves. We did the mass coup in 69, the mass coup in 90, the great war of independence. We thank those who want to support the People's Justice Movement. And if anyone opposes, condemn him.
