Newly appointed US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat said on Wednesday they consider Bangladesh as an important partner in the region and the people of the two countries benefit when they work together, report agencies.
"We look to Bangladesh as an important partner in the region, and we know that the people of both countries benefit when we work together, as we do on so many issues," Bernicat told President Abdul Hamid as she presented her credentials to him at the Bangabhaban.
According to the US embassy in Dhaka, Bernicat conveyed to President Hamid her intention to promote a Bangladesh that is secure and tolerant, moving toward its goal of middle-income status, prepared to adapt to climate change and respond to other natural disasters, and supporting a population that enjoys good health and ample educational opportunities.
Besides, the new US envoy emphasised that a strong US-Bangladesh relationship is in the interest of the United States and the American people, Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi people, as well as the regional and global community.
Bernicat, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, arrived in Dhaka on January 25 and she most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Human Resources at the Department of State, a position she held since 2012.
Prior to that assignment, she was ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau (2008-2011).
Welcoming the ambassador, the President expressed the hope that the existing relations between Bangladesh and the US would be strengthened further during her tenure.
About the recent terrorism and violence, Mr Hamid said violence and terrorism cannot not be acceptable as they are not the language of democracy, President's press secretary Ihsanul Karim told BSS after the meeting.
Echoing the President's view, the US envoy said terrorism and violence cannot be the path of democracy.
