Road Transport and Bridges Minister and General Secretary of the Awami League, Obaidul Quader, has said that the government is indifferent to US sanctions and visa policies. His comments came during a discussion today (May 14, 2024) with journalists at the Secretariat addressing contemporary issues. Quader remarked that US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu has come to Bangladesh with his own agenda, emphasizing that the government did not extend an invitation to him. “I do not want to discuss this matter. They come and go as part of their routine,” Quader mentioned. BNP rally means arson, havoc and bloodshed: Obaidul Quader Regarding Lu’s visit, Quader commented, “He is not even a Foreign Minister! Why all this fuss about him! He has come here out of necessity, they have their agenda. When relationships exist, discussions on various issues related to those relationships will happen.” Quader also referenced previous discussions related to visa policies and sanctions before the elections, highlighting that the stance remains unchanged. “We do not care about any kind of sanctions or visa policies,” Quader declared when asked about the political implications of Lu’s visit. Read more: Donald Lu in Dhaka to "strengthen bilateral cooperation" with Bangladesh

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu arrived here on Tuesday (May 14, 2024) to "strengthen bilateral cooperation" and to demonstrate US support for a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. In Bangladesh, he will meet with government officials, civil society leaders, and other Bangladeshis to talk about deepening Bangladesh-US cooperation, including deepening the economic ties in ways that the two countries can collaborate further to address climate issues, said Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the US Department of State Vedant Patel. Lu is here as part of his tri-nation tour of the region. He earlier visited India and Sri Lanka. This is also his first visit to Bangladesh after Awami League won the January 7 elections to form government for the third straight term. UK's BII supports MSMEs, women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh with $50m debt commitment to BRAC Bank "He is there to strengthen bilateral cooperation with each country and to demonstrate U.S. support for a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," Patel said from Washington.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday (January 18, 2023) said that the government has lied about the statement made by Donald Lu, US assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, during his visit to Dhaka last week. This government is using the media to force a message in front of the public that the United States has changed its position and will lift the sanction (on Rab), he told the reporters regarding Lu’s visit at a press conference at the BNP chairperson's office in Gulshan. The government wants to hold elections in a democratic way - such an idea they (the government) tried to convey the public using the media, he added. Read more: US will condemn violence – from opposition or govt security forces in Bangladesh: Donald Lu “But the statement made by an official of the US Embassy in Dhaka yesterday (January 17, 2023) in this regard is enough to explain matter. It has been cleared in that statement of the embassy.” “It is a shame that this lie was made as soon as US assistant secretary of state left Dhaka and the embassy immediately protested against it," Fakhrul said. Regarding Lu’s visit, he said democracy can never be established depending on foreign power. Democracy has always been restored here on people’s power. Read More: US will condemn violence – from opposition or govt security forces in Bangladesh: Donald Lu “This time too you have noticed that the people are fuming against this government, the people are protesting in a peaceful manner, ignoring all obstacles.” “So the US, China or Russia or India whatever they say, there is definitely a geo-political situation. But what we have noticed is that the US commitment to democracy has been expressed very strongly during the visit.” They have made the commitments regarding a fair election, an acceptable election, a participatory election, he added. Read more: US did not impose new sanctions as human rights situation has improved: Law Minister “Lu didn’t say anything about lifting the sanctions on Rab. How the ministers could say the sanction will be lifted.” Fakhrul said, “This sanction should be imposed on the government. All these issues have been committed on the instruction of the government….This is not a matter whether the US imposes it or not. The people are imposing the sanction on the government now.” Asked whether Lu had any programme to meet with BNP, he said, "No, he did not have any programme with us. This time, however, they did not have any meeting with any political party.” Read More: We want fair, credible election: Momen tells Donald Lu

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said the United States wants to maintain good relations with Bangladesh and noted that Bangladesh is "becoming a big economy". Momen said US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu came to Bangladesh to "help improve the relationship" between the two countries. “We had a very good discussion. We had a very positive and constructive discussion. They are very happy with us. We are also very happy,” he told reporters, adding that President Biden wants to improve relations with Bangladesh in the next 50 years. Momen said they are also happy with Ambassador Peter Haas because he is an expert on economic issues. “We are on a higher economic trajectory. Our main focus is on economic development. He (Peter) can help us.”    Responding to a question on RAB, he said the elite force is now more mature and things have changed with accountability in place. Read more: 'Frequent visits' by US officials a good development: Foreign Minister Momen said Bangladesh is a leader in the world in terms of stopping extremists and terrorists. “We are very successful. There are no terrorism activities.” He said Bangladesh and the US follow the same values and Bangladesh welcomes any constructive suggestion. US Embassy spokesperson Jeff Ridenour on Tuesday said Assistant Secretary Lu praised the Bangladesh government for the “dramatic reduction” last year in the number of allegations of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances by the RAB. During his meetings in Dhaka, Assistant Secretary Lu, however, did not indicate a time frame for the removal of RAB sanctions, he said. Momen said both sides acknowledged the weaknesses during the discussions. Read more: US envoy meets Momen, shares displeasure over embarrassment “We, Americans, have our own problems with democracy, but I am proud that our two countries can talk about these issues openly. We will also welcome support for improving our democracy,” Lu said.

US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu has emphasised the government and the opposition “working together peacefully” to ensure the freedom of assembly as Bangladesh moves towards the next national election. “We as Americans, we will condemn violence when we see it – if it is on the part of the opposition, or it is on the part of government security forces. At the same time, we are going to focus on whether there is any intimidation during the election… we will say this publicly,” he told Channel 24 in an interview before wrapping up his visit on Sunday (January 15, 2023). Lu referred to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s commitment to a fair election and said US also wants a free and fair election without “violence and intimidation.” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday conveyed to the United States that they, as a government, want a “free, fair, transparent and credible” election and there should be no doubt about that. Read more: Civil society voices crucial to upholding people’s right to freedom, dignity in every country: US Lu also expressed US’ commitment to upholding democracy and human rights. “We will speak when we see problems and when we can offer suggestions. We will stand up for freedom of speech, freedom of expression. And we look forward to working very closely with our partners here in Bangladesh,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Responding to a question, the US Assistant Secretary told Channel 24 that they did not designate more individuals from the Rab to face individual sanctions. “We did not do that because we recognize the progress being made by the government and by the Rab itself.” Talking to reporters at MoFA, Lu said they had “quite a good discussion” about the Rab. “If you have seen the statement this week by the Human Rights Watch, they recognised and we recognised tremendous progress in the area of reducing extrajudicial killings by the Rab,” he said. On the security of diplomats, Lu said they take the security of Bangladeshi diplomats in the US very seriously. Read more: Lu pledges US administration's continuous support, cooperation for all future efforts “We spend a lot of time making sure that they are safe. We expect the same treatment from Bangladesh,” he said, adding that he was given assurance from every meeting he attended during his Bangladesh visit. The United States has also said civil society voices in every country are crucial to upholding people’s right to freedom and dignity. Assistant Secretary Donald Lu and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas hosted a dinner on Sunday night and listened to the work of human rights advocates in Bangladesh. Lu left Dhaka early Monday (2 am), wrapping up his quick visit with a series of meetings. Read more: Donald Lu: Issues of participatory polls, CHT discussed over lunch at FSA

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday conveyed to the United States that they, as a government, want a “free, fair, transparent and credible” election and there should be no doubt about that. “No country is perfect, not even the USA. We are trying hard to improve,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that Bangladesh Awami League came to power always through democratic process. Also read: Rab made ‘tremendous progress’ in ‘respecting rights’ while performing duties: Donald Lu observes Earlier, visiting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu had meetings with Foreign Minister Momen, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen at the MoFA to discuss strengthening Bangladesh-US relations and the importance of human rights for all. Momen said they will accept if they get any good suggestions and Bangladesh has shown that sign already. Definitely, he said, they will take care of those issues if they find any weaknesses anywhere. “We want people’s welfare.” “They are our good friends. Among the friends we can talk about issues very openly without any reservations. That’s what we did,” Momen said. Also read; Not worried about next election; it'll be held on time: FM The Foreign Minister said there are transparent ballot boxes and a stronger and independent Election Commission. “We believe in people. We want peace across the world. We had very good discussions on many issues.

Participatory election, overall election process and Chittagong Hill Tracts issues were briefly discussed at a meeting over lunch with US Assistant Secretary of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu held at Foreign Service Academy on Sunday. Awami League International Affairs Secretary Dr. Shammi Ahmed, Prof. Imtiaz Ahmed, Dr. Lailufar Yasmin, Dr. Delwar Hossain and Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Syeda Rizwana Hasan, among others, were present. “They (US side) said, we don’t speak on behalf of any political party; we talk about certain processes and the rights of the people,” said Syeda Rizwana while talking to the reporters after the meeting. She said only participation of the BNP and other parties and the election process were discussed and there was no further discussion on any other aspects of the election scenario in Bangladesh. Also Read: Rab made ‘tremendous progress’ in ‘respecting rights’ while performing duties: Donald Lu observes She mentioned that no BNP leader was present at the meeting. According to a meeting source, two of the participants expressed optimism about the BNP’s participation in the next election.  “There was no conclusive discussion about human rights issues, but the Chittagong Hill Tracts issue was discussed during the meeting,” said Syeda Rizwana in response to another question. The US senior official is visiting Bangladesh to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relationships, expand economic engagement, and go over the labor and human rights situation. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen hosted the lunch in honour of Donald Lu and his delegation members.    

Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu has appreciated the “tremendous progress” made by Rab in “respecting human rights” while performing its duties. “We had quite a good discussion about the Rab. If you have seen the statement this week by the Human Rights Watch, they recognised and we recognised tremendous progress in the area of reducing extra judicial killings by the Rab,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today. “This is amazing work. It shows the Rab is able to carry out its important counterterrorism and law enforcement function while respecting human rights,” Lu added. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen also spoke on the occasion. The senior US official said they had “very honest and open” discussions with the Bangladesh foreign minister and foreign secretary. “We have expressed our commitment to democracy and human rights. We will speak when we see problems and when we can offer suggestions. We will stand up for freedom of speech, freedom of expression. And we look forward to working very closely with our partners here in Bangladesh,” Lu said. Regarding the labour rights issue, he said it is important for Bangladesh and for trade relationships. “I had the honour of sitting down this morning with (PM’s adviser) Salman F Raman to talk about the way forward, so that we can cooperate on improvement of labour rights in this country. I’m very confident we’re going to make progress this year,” said the US official. INDO-PACIFIC STRATEGY Asked whether the US wants Bangladesh to join the Indo-Pacific Strategy, Lu said they had a “wonderful discussion” on the Indo-Pacific Strategy. “It’s a strategy, it’s not a club. We don’t join.” Regarding restoration of GSP (generalised system of preferences) facilities for Bangladesh, the US official said they are still waiting for the Congress to authorise GSP for any country. “We are working very closely with the government of Bangladesh,” Lu said, adding that Bangladesh will be the first country on the list if the Congress authorises. “I am here to strengthen the friendship with Bangladesh when the world is struggling to establish peace and justice,” he said before taking questions. Talking to reporters, Foreign Minister Momen said, “I am very happy. We had very constructive discussions. The US is our old friend and our relationship turned deeper over the last 50 years. We want to make the relationship much deeper in the next 50 years.” Momen said the US side invited them to visit this month or in April. “This engagement is very effective.” Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said they discussed all issues of mutual interest – trade, investment, labour rights, sanctions, human rights, democracy and development, as well as Bangladesh’s views on the Indo-Pacific. “Through our sincere efforts, we will be able to elevate our relations to a higher level,” said the foreign secretary.  Read more: US committed to continued cooperation with Bangladesh to improve labor rights: Donald Lu LABOUR RIGHTS The United States is “committed” to continued cooperation with Bangladesh in its efforts to improve labour rights, Lu said. At a meeting with Bangladeshi labour rights leaders, Lu listened to their experiences and concerns. Earlier in the morning, he had a breakfast meeting with Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman. The US Assistant Secretary had a meeting over dinner with Foreign Minister Momen at his residence on Saturday night. Key issues of bilateral relations were discussed during Lu’s over one-hour stay at the foreign minister’s official residence, a diplomatic source told UNB. Lu, who arrived in Dhaka on Saturday evening, directly went to the foreign minister’s residence accompanied by US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Peter Haas. The US senior official is visiting Bangladesh to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relationship, expand economic engagement, and go over the labour and human rights situation.