Govt committed to promoting religious freedom: Mahmood Ali

The government is committed to promoting religious freedom and communal harmony in the society, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali has told US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel D Brownback in Washington.

At a meeting with Ambassador Brownback, the foreign minister elaborated different aspects of religious freedom being practiced in Bangladesh.

Mahmood Ali explained about the mass celebration of Bangla New Year, a truly secular national festival, which brings together people of all faiths, as well as recitation from Holy Books of all major religions at the beginning of any national event.

Brownback welcomed Mahmood Ali at the US Department of State on Wednesday and exchanged views on advancing religious freedom.

Brownback, former Governor of Kansas and a US Senator, thanked the foreign minister for accepting the invitation of  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to participate in the first ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom (MARF) being held on 25-26 July at the Department of State in Washington, DC.

The foreign minister maintained that there is a resonance of religious freedom in Bangladesh as the US is organising the Ministerial, said a press release of Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC today.

Ambassador Brownback mentioned that MARF is aimed at establishing a global standard for ensuring religious freedom regardless of countries. He highly appreciated Bangladesh's role in hosting 1.1 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar irrespective of their faiths.

The foreign minister said Bangladesh and the US along with their friends and partners would continue to ensure and advance religious freedom for the peoples.