US team to visit Dhaka in mid-Sept to strengthen ties with interim govt

A US delegation is scheduled to visit Dhaka in middle of September to discuss cooperation with the newly formed interim government.

The delegation is likely to include the US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu; Deputy Under Secretary for International Finance at the US Department of the Treasury, Brent Neiman; and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, Lindsey W Ford.

Diplomatic sources have confirmed that both Dhaka and Washington are working towards finalising the visit.

This will mark the first such engagement from the US since the interim government, led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, took office.

During the visit, the US delegation is expected to meet with Yunus, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, and Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, among others.

Bangladesh's relations with the US were strained under the previous Awami League government.

In December 2021, Washington imposed sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) over allegations of extrajudicial killings.

In 2023, the US announced a visa policy for Bangladesh ahead of the general elections.

Following the January 2024 elections, the US declared that the elections were neither free nor participatory.

A diplomatic source in Dhaka said, "The situation in Bangladesh has changed with the ousting of the Awami League government. The focus of the upcoming visit will be on how the US will engage with the interim government and what the priorities for bilateral relations will be moving forward."