Rohingya crisis: US to continue support to Bangladesh

The United States has assured Bangladesh of its continued political and humanitarian support in addressing huge man-made Rohingya crisis. 

Deputy Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for South and Central Asia at the National Security Council in the White House Lisa Curtis made the assurance during her meeting with Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque in Washington, DC, on Friday.

Curtis conveyed US President Donald Trump's deep appreciation for Bangladesh for hosting more than a million forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar.

On foreign secretary's request, Curtis elaborated on some aspects of the US Administration's Indo-Pacific Strategy.

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral, regional and global security issues, said the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington today.

Foreign Secretary Haque then met with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau at the US Department of State Ambassador Alice Wells.

Ambassador Wells conveyed to Foreign Secretary Haque that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is seized with the issue and commended Bangladesh's extremely generous attitude and efforts to shelter such a huge number of persecuted Rohingyas from Myanmar.

They discussed various aspects of the growing partnership between Bangladesh and the US and emphasised the need for further strengthening and expanding the same in the coming days.

Foreign Secretary Haque's third and last meeting was with Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration at the US Department of State Ambassador Mark Storella.

Foreign Secretary Haque conveyed Bangladesh government's sincere thanks to the US government for the latter's strong support to Bangladesh in addressing the Rohingya crisis.

Ambassador Storella highly praised Bangladesh's humane approach, despite its own resource constrains, to host more than a million Rohingya people from Myanmar who fled the atrocities in northern Rakhine and took shelter in Bangladesh.

He also said that the US would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to these forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh.