US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu arrives here today for talks likely to feature human rights, Indo-Pacific strategy, RAB sanctions, elections and offsetting shocks from the Ukraine war.
Mr Lu, who holds the charge of South and Central Asian Affairs at the foreign ministry of the United States, is scheduled pay a two-day visit to Bangladesh, incidentally, amid major developments on geopolitical and regional fronts.
The Lu trip is seen as a crucial one by political and diplomatic analysts in the wake of recent unease between the two countries over the sanctions against the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and comments on national elections by US officials.
However, Bangladesh officials consider this visit a positive development and say both the countries have been in constructive engagement in recent times.
"This is very positive," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told the FE.
"The USA is a good friend of us and we hope that such visits would further strengthen our ties," he added. He also noted that Bangladesh has always been responsive to positive and constructive criticisms from the US and other countries.
"If we find that we have weakness in some areas, we are ready to make correction.
"For example, when they raised some weak points in the digital security act, we reviewed it," he pointed out.
Assistant Secretary Lu will meet with senior Bangladeshi officials and civil-society leaders discussing ways of strengthening bilateral relationship, expanding economic engagement. He would hear their perspectives on labour-and human-rights issues, officials of the US Embassy said.
Mr Lu, now in Delhi on a three-day visit, would meet Foreign Minister Dr Momen and other high-ups of the foreign ministry tomorrow (Sunday).
"Not only human rights or election, the entire gamut of bilateral issues will come up during our meetings with the US Assistant Secretary," said Bangladesh foreign secretary Dr Masud Bin Momen.
About the US move to get Bangladesh on board in their pursuit the much-talked-about Indo-Pacific strategy, the foreign secretary said Bangladesh is not joining in any alliance rather preparing its own strategy on the Indo-Pacific affairs.
Donald Lu became Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs under the Democratic Biden government on September 15, 2021.
Prior to this assignment, he had served as the US Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic between 2018 and 2021 and
Ambassador to the Republic of Albania in 2015-2018 period.
Before his posting in Albania, Assistant Secretary Lu had worked on the Ebola crisis in West Africa as Deputy Coordinator for Ebola Response in the Department of State.
Lu is a Foreign Service Officer with more than 30 years of US government service.
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