Derek Chollet, Counselor to Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State at the Department of States of the USA arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon for a two-day high profile visit to Bangladesh to meet with senior government officials, civil society, and business leaders to address issues of mutual global concerns and strengthen bilateral ties.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen received the US official at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka in the evening.
“The purpose of the visit is to strengthen bilateral relations and government-to-government ties with an elevated focus on the Rohingya humanitarian response,” reads a press release of the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry, reports Daily Sun.
In Bangladesh, according to a media note of the US Department of State, the delegation will meet with senior Bangladeshi officials to discuss coordination and response to the Rohingya refugee crisis, strengthening cooperation in international fora, and advancing the security partnership between the United States and Bangladesh.
Derek Chollet is leading a 7-member interagency delegation to visit Bangladesh on 14-15 February 2023, said the Foreign Ministry.
The delegation includes Clinton White, Counselor of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and Ms. Elizabeth Horst, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Ms. Beth Van Schaack, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice and three other members.
During the visit, the US delegation will call on the Prime Minister, and the Foreign Minister, and also will have a separate meeting with the Foreign Secretary along with senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wednesday (Feb 15).
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter D Haas and Embassy officials are expected to accompany the delegation in the meetings.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
