The United States has agreed to provide additional security assistance for Bangladesh to increase maritime domain awareness, piracy, and regional security coordination in the Bay of Bengal, pending congressional approval.
The announcement follows the seventh US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue, co-chaired by Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque and United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale, in Washington, DC, on Monday.
Recognising Bangladesh’s leading role in UN peacekeeping operations, the US also reiterated its pledge to support Bangladesh’s drone or unmanned aerial system (UAS) project for deployment in UN peacekeeping operations. The announcement was first made during the March 2019 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in New York.
Lauding Bangladesh’s generosity in continuing to host more than one million Rohingyas from Myanmar, the US committed to engaging the international community to mobilise additional assistance for the forcibly displaced Rohingyas temporarily staying in Bangladesh.
“The two governments agreed to continue to work closely with the global community including the United Nations and international organisations to continue to support the Rohingyas, and host communities, and to put effective pressure on Myanmar for a resolution of the crisis,” said a joint statement released by the two sides on Tuesday morning.
While promising to promote US business engagement in support of Bangladesh's development goals, the United States also urged Bangladesh to continue progress on labour rights and workplace safety in line with International Labour Organisation standards and practices.
Bangladesh expressed hopes that the creation of Special Economic Zones in the country would encourage more foreign direct investment from the United States, which is already one of Bangladesh's largest sources of FDI.
Both the countries agreed to work toward security and economic cooperation and enhancing people-to-people ties in support of a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. The next Partnership Dialogue between Bangladesh and the United States will be held in Dhaka.