Political relations between Bangladesh and the US regime is growing as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is likely to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her New York trip to attend the UN General Assembly later this month.
“We received a proposal from the US side and are working on this,” said a senior government official.
The first senior-level political engagement with the Trump administration was in July when Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali went to Washington for the religious freedom event.
“The upcoming meeting is a continuation of that as both the countries can gain out of a warm relationship,” he said.
Dhaka needs Washington’s support on the Rohingya crisis, trade, and other issues while the US wants Bangladesh to join its long-term vision of Indo-Pacific Strategy, he said.
“Like all other relations, we have convergence and divergence, but the engagement will continue at the top political level,” he added.
Another official said that Washington has been supportive to Rohingya issue from the very beginning and that Dhaka wants to consolidate the position.
“The US is one of the biggest export destinations of Bangladesh and we want to expand our business relationship by inviting more investment from the richest country of the world”, he added.
Energy and aviation are among sectors where the US is interested to invest, the official said.
Washington also has an intention to penetrate more into Bangladesh market as it considers the country to be a growing economy, said another official.
“It’s a market of 160 million people with a growing mid-income group and the potential can be identified even with naked eyes”, he added.
On the US’s Indo-Pacific vision, he said, “We are yet to get details. We will consider after getting a clear picture.”