Bangladesh will work to plug any loophole in the 'controversial' digital security act, the US was told at a meet Monday in Dhaka, where other current issues also figured high.
Sources said concern over the DSA cropped up during the consultation between visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Michele J. Sison and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.
Apart from the digital security act, issues related to food security, climate change, geopolitics and Rohingya crisis were also discussed.
In the wake of disruption to global food-supply chain -- due to the pandemic and the Ukraine war -- both sides stressed the need for a collective effort to ensure food security.
Climate change was also discussed, the foreign secretary told newsmen after the meeting, as climatic calamities like droughts and floods sweep the planet of late.
"The US has geared up its effort to address the effects of the climate change and they want Bangladesh to be an active partner in addressing the challenges of climate change as Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change," the foreign secretary added.
During the talks Bangladesh, called upon the United States to take measures to help resolve the Rohingya crisis.
Dhaka also sought US assistance in the trial at the International Court of Justice against Myanmar for the genocide committed in Rakhine State against the Rohingyas.
Scope of shifting Rohingyas to a third country was discussed, but Bangladesh argued that shifting such a huge number of Rohingyas is not a viable option.
"Rather, we told them repatriation will be the ultimate solution to the Rohingya crisis," the FS said.
Responding to a question, he said the issue of sanctions imposed against the RAB by the US also was raised during the meeting and the US side told them that the matter is not under the jurisdiction of the Treasury, nor the State Department.
"They reiterated there are certain procedures to resolve the issue and we are also working on it and we have also in touch with a US law firm to handle the issue," Mr Masud mentioned.
He said they discussed multilateral issues to strengthen cooperation in a number of areas, including food security, health and human rights, and events of the high-level week of the UNGA.
The US side, he said, was very amazed to see vaccination of such a large number of people in Bangladesh and that the US is keen to do an event on Covid front.
Sison said the US is committed to strengthening cooperation for full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh.
She said discussion on cooperation and coordination with UN agencies in Bangladesh is critical to this effort.
The US assistant foreign minister arrived here on Saturday evening as part of her tri-nation trip (India, Bangladesh and Kuwait) for consultations on a range of US multilateral priorities, including combating food insecurity, advancing global health, addressing human rights and humanitarian needs, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, and support for Rohingya refugees.
Incidentally, her arrival took place close on the heels of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's Dhaka mission capped with four fresh cooperation accords.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com
