US to take 20,000 students from Bangladesh each year

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Visiting US Under Secretary Judith A McHale meets Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Jamuna residence Sunday. — PID photo

Visiting US Under-Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith A McHale highly praised the present government's development initiatives and assured of providing all necessary cooperation in implementing development programmes, projects and plans, reports UNB.
Judith A. McHale came up with the appreciation and assurance when she met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Jamuna Sunday morning. Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad briefed the media after the meeting.
The US Under-Secretary of State also appreciated the government-sponsored new education policy and Sheikh Hasina's role in tackling terrorism.
Judith McHale hoped that the present democratic government of Bangladesh through its innovative initiatives and development programmes will be able to bring about socioeconomic prosperity for its people.
Among other issues, bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the USA and Madrasah education in Bangladesh also came up for discussion.
The Prime Minister and the Under-Secretary of State stressed the need for increasing people-to-people contact as one of the ways to further strengthen the existing bilateral relations between the two countries.
The Prime Minister also called for more US investment in Bangladesh, as her government had been successful in creating a congenial atmosphere for investment, trade and commerce.
The Prime Minister and the US Under-Secretary also discussed the global climate change issue and its impacts on earth and its people.
US Ambassador in Dhaka James F Moriarty, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister MA Karim and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Abdus Sobhan Golap were also present.
Meanwhile, FE's DU Correspondent adds: The United States will take 20,000 students from Bangladesh to the American universities every year from now on, said US Under-Secretary of State Judith A McHale, who came on a three-day official visit to the country Saturday.
"Only 2,700 Bangladeshi students study in the US now. We want to enroll 20,000 students from Bangladesh every year from now. However, the students must meet the criteria the US institutions follow for the same," she said Sunday.