Donald Lu had a meeting with the Foreign Minister after landing in Dhaka

Foreign Minister came to Dhaka on a two-day visit. US Assistant Secretary for Central and South Asian Affairs Donald Lu has met with AK Abdul Momen. They are believed to have discussed issues related to bilateral and mutual needs of Dhaka-Washington.

Read more :  Liverpool crashed near Brighton after 62 years

Lu attended a dinner at the Foreign Minister's Iskaton residence on Saturday (January 14) night. US Ambassador to Dhaka, Peter Haas, was with him at the time. After dinner, Momen-lu met for a meeting. The relevant sources could not provide any information about the meeting till the writing of this report. But it is believed that they discussed the issues related to bilateral and mutual needs.

Earlier, Lu arrived at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the evening and was received at the airport by Naeem Uddin Ahmed, Director General of the Americas Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lu will have a bilateral meeting with Foreign Secretary Masoud Bin Momen on Sunday, January 15. According to the diplomatic sources about the meeting, Bangladesh will request the United States to withdraw the sanctions on RAB and not to impose any new sanctions.

Read more : Prime Minister will inaugurate 50 more model mosques on January 16

On the other hand, the US can emphasize on democracy, elections, human rights, Indo-Pacific strategy, defense cooperation, digital security law and ensuring the security of the country's diplomats in Dhaka.

Both sides are likely to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues during Lu's visit, diplomatic sources said. In this case, the priority issues will have a place on the discussion table. From the side of Dhaka, the withdrawal of ban on RAB, resumption of GSP facilities, various initiatives of the government in trade, labor authority and human rights protection, various steps taken so far regarding free, fair and impartial elections, ensuring the safety of diplomats according to the Vienna Charter, Issues like cooperation on the Rohingya issue.

Read more : Mirza Fakhrul admitted to Evercare Hospital

Besides, Dhaka will highlight the incident of Bangladeshi killed by police in Boston, USA. There will also be the matter of returning Bangabandhu's self-confessed and death-sentenced murderer Rashed Chowdhury.

Lu is expected to deliver a message of free and fair elections and participation of all parties in Bangladesh. In addition to the human rights situation, disappearances, digital security law, security cooperation including Indo-Pacific strategy, Bangladesh should be included in the agreements like JSOMIA and Aksar.

Note that for the last 30 years, Donald Lu has been serving as a foreign official for the United States government. In September 2021, Lu was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs. Although he has visited several countries in this area before, this is his first visit to Dhaka.