US Asstt Secy arrives in city tomorrow

Robert O Blake, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs will arrive in Dhaka tomorrow (Saturday) on a five-day visit to Bangladesh on the second leg of his three Asian nations' tour, reports UNB. Blake will hold bilateral consultations with the government, and meet civil society leaders and the opposition in parliament. He will also attend the Regional Strategic Initiative (RSI) Conference in Dhaka on March 22. A US embassy official said Blake will meet the usual contacts here in government, the opposition, and civil society. He will travel to Jessore for a day for a briefing on border/trafficking issues as well as stop at the American Centre in Jessore, where he will meet 30 or so students. Blake will leave here for Kazakhstan on March 23. Political and diplomatic circles understand that the removal of Dr Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank would figure prominently during Blake's meetings with government and opposition leaders, and civil society.