US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu has arrived in Dhaka. He reached Dhaka on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight around 11:30 on Tuesday. He has come to Dhaka on a two-day visit to promote partnership relations with Bangladesh. This is his first visit to Dhaka after the 12th national election of Bangladesh. Security issues will be a priority from Washington during the US official’s visit. This information is known through diplomatic sources.

According to related sources, Donald Lu is coming to Dhaka to discuss Bangladesh-US relations. It will be dominated by US President Joe Biden’s policy on Bangladesh. Donald Lu has sought a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to explain the US administration’s view on Bangladesh. However, diplomatic sources said that the meeting with the Prime Minister has not been finalised.

Donald Lu will hold a bilateral meeting with Foreign Secretary Masoud Bin Momen. In addition, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He will also have a courtesy meeting with Hasan Mahmud, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Affairs Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman. He also has discussions with opposition politicians and civil society representatives.

Joe Biden gave a clear message in a letter after Sheikh Hasina took over as Prime Minister for the fourth term. In the letter, he highlighted the continued cooperation of the United States in achieving the economic goals of Bangladesh. He also expressed the intention of Washington’s commitment to build a partnership with Dhaka in the joint vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The country wants to work together on regional and global security, climate change, energy and Rohingya issues as well as global issues.

A senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told media that stopping China by any means in the geopolitical game is one of the priorities of the United States. Because China’s growing influence around the world has threatened the dominance of the United States. Small countries don’t care about the US as much as they used to. In this context, Washington wants to stop China’s hegemony in the sea through the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS).

The diplomat said that the United States is considering Bangladesh as a partner to prevent the expansion of China’s dominance. Dhaka’s Indo-Pacific perspective and Washington’s IPS have many similarities. Therefore, Washington is interested in cooperating with Dhaka in the field of security. For this purpose, big officials of the United States have already visited Bangladesh.
Recently, the political officer of the US Embassy in Dhaka, Maxwell Martin, said that the United States is providing assistance in various matters including strengthening the internal security system of Bangladesh, supplying defense equipment, training. He said that the United States expects Bangladesh to play a positive role in ensuring the security of itself and other countries in the region.

Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial meeting on Bangladesh-US bilateral relations was held on April 30. The meeting discussed how to further enhance relations with the United States. The meeting discussed the importance of the United States to take into consideration the relationship. The first of these is increasing economic connectivity. Second, environmental protection or climate change. In this case there is the issue of technology transfer or investment. Third, security cooperation; Among them is the issue of counter-terrorism cooperation. It includes funding for Police-RAB rollout, maritime security partnership issues. Humanitarian aid includes the issue of Rohingya. There are human rights, democracy or labor rights.

Regarding Donald Lu’s visit, Foreign Secretary Masoud Bin Momen said last Thursday, “There was never any discomfort from our side regarding his visit; not yet The US also now wants to advance the relationship. The picture that was there before the election, now the scene is completely different.

Donald Lu was discussing the issue of the new visa policy of the United States centered on the twelfth national parliament election of Bangladesh. Clarifying their position after the vote, Washington said that the election was not free and fair. However, the country has expressed interest in working with the new government of Bangladesh.

After Awami League formed the government last January, a delegation led by Eileen Laubacher, Special Assistant to the US President and Senior Director of South Asia Affairs of the country’s National Security Council, visited Dhaka in February. It was the first high-level visit to the US under the new government.