US looks forward to defence co-op with Bangladesh, deepen partnership: Envoy tells PM

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas on Tuesday (Sept 13) met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and noted that the United States looks forward to growing its defence cooperation with Bangladesh.

This was his first meeting with the Bangladesh Prime Minister since the newly appointed US envoy presented his credentials to the President of Bangladesh, Md. Abdul Hamid on March 15 2022.

During the meeting, they highlighted the shared achievements over the 50 years of positive bilateral relations between the United States and Bangladesh and discussed ways to deepen the partnership between the two countries, said the US Embassy in a press statement.  

“We discussed our cooperation on a range of topics, including economic development, security, climate change, Rohingya refugee assistance, and COVID-19,” Ambassador Haas said after the meeting. 

In the meeting, Ambassador Haas acknowledged Bangladesh’s remarkable economic progress, its leadership on climate change, its generosity in sheltering Rohingya refugees, and its tremendous contribution to global peacekeeping operations. 

“During our meeting, I told the Honorable Prime Minister Hasina that I think one of our proudest joint achievements was in how we worked together to respond to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Ambassador Haas. 

“I commend Bangladesh’s effort to vaccinate over 70 percent of its entire population” he added.  

The United States has donated nearly 88 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, contributed over $140 million in COVID-19 related development and humanitarian assistance, and collaborated closely with Bangladesh to distribute this assistance throughout the country.

Ambassador Haas reaffirmed the United States’ continued support of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi host communities.