February elections and referendum, trade, civil aviation, labour reforms initiated by the interim government and overall relations between Bangladesh and the United States came up for discussion when a US top diplomat met the Chief Adviser Monday.
Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, Chargé d'Affaires of the United States to Bangladesh, paid a farewell call on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guesthouse Jamuna in Dhaka when the discussion took place, said spokesman for the CA Office.
Jacobson, who is returning home after an eventful year in Bangladesh, the time when political regime change occurred in the country, appreciated the leadership of the Chief Adviser over the past 17 months and reiterated the support of the United States government for the February elections.
The head of interim government reaffirmed his government's commitment to holding free, fair, and peaceful elections, saying that full preparations were underway to ensure the success of both the parliamentary elections and the referendum on the July uprising-mandated reforms.
"We are fully prepared," Professor Yunus said, adding that any attempts to disrupt peace ahead of the elections would be dealt with firmly.
The US Chargé d'Affaires lauded the reforms undertaken by the interim government and, in particular, praised the "truly remarkable and extraordinary" labour laws, saying they would help attract greater foreign direct investment to Bangladesh.
She also commended the interim government for withdrawing 45 of the 46 cases that had been filed against the country's labour leaders under previous governments.
In response, the Chief Adviser described the new labour ordinance as an "excellent piece of legislation," saying that leading Bangladeshi labour activists have publicly welcomed the reforms and the ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions by the interim government.
They also discussed funding for Rohingya humanitarian assistance. The Chief Adviser thanked the United States for continued support for the camp-dwellers who were flushed out of Myanmar.
"The United States remains the single-largest donor to life-saving humanitarian aid for more than one million forcibly displaced Rohingya living in camps in southeastern Bangladesh," Professor Yunus noted and expressed the hope that such support would continue in the future. The Chief Adviser thanked the US envoy for her "critical work" during her year-long tenure and for being a "friend to Bangladesh", and extended invitation to her to visit in future.
National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman and SDG Coordinator and Senior Secretary Lamiya Morshed were also present at the meeting.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com
