USA
US 'maintaining pressure' on Myanmar’s military regime to end Rohingya crisis
The United States has said it is "maintaining pressure" on Myanmar’s military regime to end the Rohingya crisis and create conditions conducive for the eventual voluntary return of the refugees to their homeland in a manner that is safe, dignified, informed, and sustainable.US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this morning and discussed bilateral issues.
They discussed the strong and growing partnership between the United States and Bangladesh, including coordination on issues from humanitarian assistance to gender equality.
They spoke about efforts to advance a prosperous future built on strong democratic institutions, including free and fair elections; the vital role of civil society and independent media; promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of association and labor rights, according to the US Embassy in Dhaka.
Also read: US visa policy to supplement govt commitment to hold free election: Uzra Zeya tells PM
"Us appreciates Bangladesh’s generosity towards Rohingya refugees and looks forward to free and fair elections anchoring a thriving democratic future for the Bangladeshi people," Under Secretary Zeya tweeted after her meeting with Prime Minister Hasina.
She also described the meeting as "engaging and productive".
The Under Secretary and Prime Minister also discussed Bangladesh's generous hosting of Rohingya refugees and the continued need for support from the global community.
The United States is proud to have provided more than $2.1 billion in humanitarian assistance to support Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh and the region since August 2017.
The Under Secretary also shared that the United States is providing more than $74 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support the ongoing response efforts in Myanmar and Bangladesh, including nearly $61 million to support Rohingyas internally displaced in Myanmar, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and their host communities, including in Bangladesh, while urging continued support by other donors and potential donors.
US Under Secretary Uzra Zeya, Donald Lu visit Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar
Biden’s upcoming European trip is meant to boost NATO against Russia as the war in Ukraine drags on
President Joe Biden will head to Europe at week's end for a three-country trip intended to bolster the international coalition against Russian aggression as the war in Ukraine extends well into its second year.
The main focus of Biden's five-day visit will be the annual NATO summit, held this year in Vilnius, Lithuania. Also planned are stops in Helsinki, Finland, to commemorate the Nordic country's entrance into the 31-nation military alliance in April, and Britain, the White House announced Sunday.
US, NATO had no involvement in Wagner's 'short-lived' revolt in Russia: Biden
Biden will begin his trip next Sunday in London, and will meet with King Charles III at Windsor Castle the next day, according to Buckingham Palace. The president did not attend Charles's coronation in May, sending first lady Jill Biden to represent the United States. In June, Biden hosted British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the White House, where the two leaders pledged continued cooperation in defending Ukraine.
Sunak's office said he looked forward to welcoming Biden and that their meeting would build on earlier visits.
The NATO meeting comes at the latest critical point in the war. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says counteroffensive and defensive actions against Russian forces are underway as Ukrainian troops start to recapture territory in the southeastern part of the country, according to its military leaders.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary-general, visited the White House on June 13, where he and Biden made clear that the Western alliance was united in defending Ukraine. Biden said during that meeting that he and other NATO leaders will work to ensure that each member country spends the requisite 2% of its gross domestic product on defense.
Just a day after Blinken’s Beijing visit to stabilize US-China relations, Biden calls Xi Jinping a ‘dictator’
"The NATO allies have never been more united. We both worked like hell to make sure that happened. And so far, so good," Biden said as he sat alongside Stoltenberg, who is expected to extend his term for another year. "We see our joint strength in modernizing the relationship within NATO, as well as providing assistance to defense capabilities to Ukraine.
When Finland joined NATO in April, it effectively doubled Russia's border with the world's biggest security alliance. Biden has highlighted the strengthened NATO alliance as a signal of Moscow's declining influence.
Sweden is also seeking entry into NATO, although alliance members Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the move. Biden will host Sweden's prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, at the White House on Wednesday in a show of solidarity as the United States presses for the Nordic nation's entry into NATO.
Biden hosting Modi as US sees India as a pivotal force in Asia for decades to come
Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has said Sweden is too lax on terrorist groups and security threats. Stoltenberg has said Sweden has met its obligations for membership through toughening anti-terrorist laws and other measures.
Hungary's reasons for opposing Sweden have been less defined, complaining about Sweden's criticism of democratic backsliding and the erosion of rule of law. Hungary, while providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine, has also sought to balance its relations between NATO and Russia. Budapest is heavily reliant on Russia for its energy requirements.
After last weekend's abortive rebellion in Russia, the fate of some top generals is unknown
All nations in the alliance have to ratify the entry of a new member country.
The White House has stressed that Sweden has fulfilled its commitments to join NATO and has urged that it join the alliance expeditiously.
Putin says the aborted rebellion played into the hands of Russia’s enemies
Xi meets Blinken in Beijing
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People on Monday.
Xi said that Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang described their talks with Secretary Blinken as candid and in-depth.
Also Read: Blinken to meet Xi, State Department says, in bid to ease US-China tensions
"The Chinese side has made its position clear, and the two sides have agreed to follow through on the common understandings President Biden and I reached in Bali," said Xi, adding that the two sides also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues.
Also Read: Blinken opens second day of talks in Beijing on mission to ease soaring US-China tensions
State-to-state interactions should always be based on mutual respect and sincerity, said Xi. "I hope that Secretary Blinken, through this visit, could make positive contributions to stabilizing China-U.S. relations."
Also Read: Blinken opens second day of talks in Beijing on mission to ease soaring US-China tensions
Rising rents and diminishing aid are fueling a sharp increase in evictions in many US cities
Entering court using a walker, a doctor's note clutched in his hand, 70-year-old Dana Williams, who suffers serious heart problems, hypertension and asthma, pleaded to delay eviction from his two-bedroom apartment in Atlanta.
Although sympathetic, the judge said state law required him to evict Williams and his 25-year-old daughter De'mai Williams in April because they owed $8,348 in unpaid rent and fees on their $940-a-month apartment.
They have been living in limbo ever since.
Also Read: Suicide rate for young adults in US was worst in over 50 years during pandemic: Study
They moved into a dilapidated Atlanta hotel room with water dripping through the bathroom ceiling, broken furniture and no refrigerator or microwave. But at $275-a-week, it was all they could afford on Williams' $900 monthly social security check and the $800 his daughter gets biweekly from a state agency as her father's caretaker.
"I really don't want to be here by the time his birthday comes" in August, De'mai Williams said. "For his health, it's just not right."
The Williams family is among millions of tenants from New York state to Las Vegas who have been evicted or face imminent eviction.
After a lull during the pandemic, eviction filings by landlords have come roaring back, driven by rising rents and a long-running shortage of affordable housing. Most low-income tenants can no longer count on pandemic resources that had kept them housed, and many are finding it hard to recover because they haven't found steady work or their wages haven't kept pace with the rising cost of rent, food and other necessities.
Homelessness, as a result, is rising.
Also Read: Nusrat Choudhury appointed first Bangladeshi-American federal judge
"Protections have ended, the federal moratorium is obviously over, and emergency rental assistance money has dried up in most places," said Daniel Grubbs-Donovan, a research specialist at Princeton University's Eviction Lab.
"Across the country, low-income renters are in an even worse situation than before the pandemic due to things like massive increases in rent during the pandemic, inflation and other pandemic-era related financial difficulties."
Eviction filings are more than 50% higher than the pre-pandemic average in some cities, according to the Eviction Lab, which tracks filings in nearly three dozen cities and 10 states. Landlords file around 3.6 million eviction cases every year.
Among the hardest-hit are Houston, where rates were 56% higher in April and 50% higher in May. In Minneapolis/St. Paul, rates rose 106% in March, 55% in April and 63% in May. Nashville was 35% higher and Phoenix 33% higher in May; Rhode Island was up 32% in May.
The latest data mirrors trends that started last year, with the Eviction Lab finding nearly 970,000 evictions filed in locations it tracks — a 78.6% increase compared to 2021, when much of the country was following an eviction moratorium. By December, eviction filings were nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.
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At the same time, rent prices nationwide are up about 5% from a year ago and 30.5% above 2019, according to the real estate company Zillow. There are few places for displaced tenants to go, with the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimating a 7.3 million shortfall of affordable units nationwide.
Many vulnerable tenants would have been evicted long ago if not for a safety net created during the pandemic.
The federal government, as well as many states and localities, issued moratoriums during the pandemic that put evictions on hold; most have now ended. There was also $46.5 billion in federal Emergency Rental Assistance that helped tenants pay rent and funded other tenant protections. Much of that has been spent or allocated, and calls for additional resources have failed to gain traction in Congress.
"The disturbing rise of evictions to pre-pandemic levels is an alarming reminder of the need for us to act — at every level of government — to keep folks safely housed," said Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, urging Congress to pass a bill cracking down on illegal evictions, fund legal help for tenants and keep evictions off credit reports.
Housing courts are again filling up and ensnaring the likes of 79-year-old Maria Jackson.
Jackson worked for nearly two decades building a loyal clientele as a massage therapist in Las Vegas, which has seen one of the country's biggest jumps in eviction filings. That evaporated during the pandemic-triggered shutdown in March 2020. Her business fell apart; she sold her car and applied for food stamps.
She got behind on the $1,083 monthly rent on her one-bedroom apartment, and owing $12,489 in back rent was evicted in March. She moved in with a former client about an hour northeast of Las Vegas.
"Who could imagine this happening to someone who has worked all their life?" Jackson asked.
Last month she found a room in Las Vegas for $400 a month, paid for with her $1,241 monthly social security check. It's not home, but "I'm one of the lucky ones," she said.
"I could be in a tent or at a shelter right now."
In upstate New York, evictions are rising after a moratorium lifted last year. Forty of the state's 62 counties had higher eviction filings in 2022 than before the pandemic, including two where eviction filings more than doubled compared to 2019.
"How do we care for the folks who are evicted ... when the capacity is not in place and ready to roll out in places that haven't experienced a lot of eviction recently?" said Russell Weaver, whose Cornell University lab tracks evictions statewide.
Housing advocates had hoped the Democrat-controlled state Legislature would pass a bill requiring landlords to provide justification for evicting tenants and limit rent increases to 3% or 1.5 times inflation. But it was excluded from the state budget and lawmakers failed to pass it before the legislative session ended this month.
"Our state Legislature should have fought harder," said Oscar Brewer, a tenant organizer facing eviction from the apartment he shares with his 6-year-old daughter in Rochester.
In Texas, evictions were kept down during the pandemic by federal assistance and the moratoriums. But as protections went away, housing prices skyrocketed in Austin, Dallas and elsewhere, leading to a record 270,000 eviction filings statewide in 2022.
Advocates were hoping the state Legislature might provide relief, directing some of the $32 billion budget surplus into rental assistance. But that hasn't happened.
"It's a huge mistake to miss our shot here," said Ben Martin, a research director at nonprofit Texas Housers. "If we don't address it, now, the crisis is going to get worse."
Still, some pandemic protections are being made permanent, and having an impact on eviction rates. Nationwide, 200 measures have passed since January 2021, including legal representation for tenants, sealing eviction records and mediation to resolve cases before they reach court, said the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
These measures are credited with keeping eviction filings down in several cities, including New York City and Philadelphia — 41% below pre-pandemic levels in May for the former and 33% for the latter.
A right-to-counsel program and the fact that housing courts aren't prosecuting cases involving rent arears are among the factors keeping New York City filings down.
In Philadelphia, 70% of the more than 5,000 tenants and landlords who took part in the eviction diversion program resolved their cases. The city also set aside $30 million in assistance for those with less than $3,000 in arears, and started a right-to-counsel program, doubling representation rates for tenants.
The future is not so bright for Williams and his daughter, who remain stuck in their dimly-lit hotel room. Without even a microwave or nearby grocery stores, they rely on pizza deliveries and snacks from the hotel vending machine.
Williams used to love having his six grandchildren over for dinner at his old apartment, but those days are over for now.
"I just want to be able to host my grandchildren," he said, pausing to cough heavily. "I just want to live somewhere where they can come and sit down and hang out with me."
Biden to host outgoing NATO secretary-general Stoltenberg as competition to replace him heats up
President Joe Biden is welcoming outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House for talks on Monday as the competition to find his successor to lead the military alliance heats up.
Stoltenberg, who has led the NATO since 2014 and has had his tenure extended three times, said earlier this year he would move on when his current time expires at the end of September. The jockeying to replace him is intensifying as leaders of the 31-member military alliance are set to meet next month for their annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Last week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the case for U.K. Defense Minister Ben Wallace directly to Biden. The U.S. president also met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, another potential contender.
Also Read: Religious leaders shocked at congressmen's letter to Biden
Asked about the NATO job at a news conference with Sunak by his side, Biden called Wallace "very qualified" but noted that the conversation among NATO leaders to find a "consensus" pick to replace Stoltenberg was ongoing. Biden's opinion carries enormous weight as the U.S. spends more than any other member in the alliance on defense.
Frederiksen sought to play down her candidacy after she met with Biden last week. She declined to say whether she discussed the coming vacancy with him, telling reporters that she did not want to go "further in these speculations about NATO." The alliance has never had a female secretary-general.
Also Read: NATO allies prepare unprecedented air deployment exercise over Europe in show of force to Russia
A British government official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said ahead of Sunak's visit that the British leader wants to be sure the next secretary general "carries on Stoltenberg's good work of modernization but also understands the importance of defense spending at this critical time."
Denmark has lagged behind NATO's target for members to spend 2% of gross domestic product on military budgets by 2030. But the centrist government announced late last month that it would look to invest some 143 billion kroner ($20.6 billion) in the country's defense over the next decade, citing a "serious threat picture."
Biden and Stoltenberg are also expected to discuss Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine and efforts to persuade fellow NATO member Turkey to back off blocking Sweden from joining the military alliance.
Sweden and Finland, both historically unaligned militarily, jointly sought NATO membership after being rattled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Turkey initially blocked both countries from joining the alliance before agreeing to membership for Finland while continuing to object to Sweden.
Also Read: US says ‘the time is now’ for Sweden to join NATO and for Turkey to get new F-16s
In public comments since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reelected last month, Biden has spoken with a measure of certainty that Sweden will soon join the alliance.
"It will happen. I promise you," Biden said of Sweden's NAT0 ascension earlier this month.
Stoltenberg and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have both expressed hope that Sweden will be brought into the NATO fold by the time allied leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12.
Trump indicted in classified documents case in a historic first for a former president
Donald Trump has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, a remarkable development that makes him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges by the federal government that he once oversaw.
The Justice Department was expected to make public a seven-count indictment ahead of a historic court appearance next week in the midst of a 2024 presidential campaign punctuated by criminal prosecutions in multiple states.
The indictment carries unmistakably grave legal consequences, including the possibility of prison if Trump's convicted.
Also Read: Trump indicted: What to know about the documents case and what's next
But it also has enormous political implications, potentially upending a Republican presidential primary that Trump had been dominating and testing anew the willingness of GOP voters and party leaders to stick with a now twice-indicted candidate who could face still more charges. And it sets the stage for a sensational trial centered on claims that a man once entrusted to safeguard the nation's most closely guarded secrets willfully, and illegally, hoarded sensitive national security information.
The Justice Department did not immediately confirm the indictment publicly. But two people familiar with the situation who were not authorized to discuss it publicly said that the indictment included seven criminal counts. One of those people said Trump's lawyers were contacted by prosecutors shortly before he announced Thursday on his Truth Social platform that he had been indicted.
Within minutes of his announcement, Trump, who said he was due in court Tuesday afternoon in Miami, began fundraising off it for his presidential campaign. He declared his innocence in a video and repeated his familiar refrain that the investigation is a "witch hunt."
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The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump, who has already been indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that also could lead to criminal charges. But among the various investigations he faces, legal experts — as well as Trump's own aides — had long seen the Mar-a-Lago probe as the most perilous threat and the one most ripe for prosecution. Campaign aides had been bracing for the fallout since Trump's attorneys were notified that he was the target of the investigation, assuming it was not a matter of if charges would be brought, but when.
Appearing Thursday night on CNN, Trump attorney James Trusty said the indictment includes charges of willful retention of national defense information — a crime under the Espionage Act, which polices the handling of government secrets — obstruction, false statements and conspiracy.
The inquiry took a major step forward last November when Attorney General Merrick Garland, a soft-spoken former federal judge who has long stated that no one person should be regarded as above the law, appointed Jack Smith, a war crimes prosecutor with an aggressive, hard-charging reputation to lead both the documents probe as well as a separate investigation into efforts to subvert the 2020 election.
The case is a milestone for a Justice Department that had investigated Trump for years — as president and private citizen — but had never before charged him with a crime. The most notable investigation was an earlier special counsel probe into ties between his 2016 campaign and Russia, but prosecutors in that probe cited Justice Department policy against indicting a sitting president. Once he left office, though, he lost that protection.
The indictment arises from a monthslong investigation into whether Trump broke the law by holding onto hundreds of documents marked classified at his Palm Beach property, Mar-a-Lago, and whether Trump took steps to obstruct the government's efforts to recover the records.
Prosecutors have said that Trump took roughly 300 classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, including some 100 that were seized by the FBI last August in a search of the home that underscored the gravity of the Justice Department's investigation. Trump has repeatedly insisted that he was entitled to keep the classified documents when he left the White House, and has also claimed without evidence that he had declassified them.
Court records unsealed last year showed federal investigators believed they had probable cause that multiple crimes had been committed, including the retention of national defense information, destruction of government records and obstruction.
Since then, the Justice Department has amassed additional evidence and secured grand jury testimony from people close to Trump, including his own lawyers. The statutes governing the handling of classified records and obstruction are felonies that could carry years in prison in the event of a conviction.
Even so, it remains unclear how much it will damage Trump's standing given that his first indictment generated millions of dollars in contributions from angry supporters and didn't weaken him in the polls.
The former president has long sought to use his legal troubles to his political advantage, complaining on social media and at public events that the cases are being driven by Democratic prosecutors out to hurt his 2024 election campaign. He is likely to rely on that playbook again, reviving his longstanding claims that the Justice Department — which, during his presidency, investigated whether his 2016 campaign had colluded with Russia — is somehow weaponized against him.
Trump's legal troubles extend beyond the New York indictment and classified documents case.
Smith is separately investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. And the district attorney in Georgia's Fulton County is investigating Trump over alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election in that state.
Signs had mounted for weeks that an indictment was near, including a Monday meeting between Trump's lawyers and Justice Department officials. His lawyers had also recently been notified that he was the target of the investigation, the clearest sign yet that an indictment was looming.
Though the bulk of the investigative work had been handled in Washington, with a grand jury meeting there for months, it recently emerged that prosecutors were presenting evidence before a separate panel in Florida, where many of the alleged acts of obstruction scrutinized by prosecutors took place.
The Justice Department has said Trump repeatedly resisted efforts by the National Archives and Records Administration to get the documents back. After months of back-and-forth, Trump representatives returned 15 boxes of records in January 2022, including about 184 documents that officials said had classified markings on them.
FBI and Justice Department investigators issued a subpoena in May 2022 for classified documents that remained in Trump's possession. But after a Trump lawyer provided three dozen records and asserted that a diligent search of the property had been done, officials came to suspect even more documents remained.
The investigation had simmered for months before bursting into front-page news in remarkable fashion last August. That's when FBI agents served a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago and removed 33 boxes containing classified records, including top-secret documents stashed in a storage room and desk drawer and commingled with personal belongings. Some records were so sensitive that investigators needed upgraded security clearances to review them, the Justice Department has said.
The investigation into Trump had appeared complicated — politically, if not legally — by the discovery of documents with classified markings in the Delaware home and former Washington office of President Joe Biden, as well as in the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence. The Justice Department recently informed Pence that he would not face charges, while a second special counsel continues to investigate Biden's handling of classified documents.
But compared with Trump, there are key differences in the facts and legal issues surrounding Biden's and Pence's handling of documents, including that representatives for both men say the documents were voluntarily turned over to investigators as soon as they were found. In contrast, investigators quickly zeroed on whether Trump, who for four years as president expressed disdain for the FBI and Justice Department, had sought to obstruct the inquiry by refusing to turn over all the requested documents.
US eyeing enhanced cooperation with Bangladesh in security and trade
The United States has reiterated that they are keen to enhance relationship and cooperation with Bangladesh in key areas, including security and trade.
“Last year we celebrated an anniversary as it relates to our bilateral relationship with Bangladesh, and this year in 2023 we look forward to deepening that relationship, and there are a number of areas in which we intend to deepen that cooperation,” Principal Deputy Spokesperson at US State Department, Vedant Patel, said.
Also read: Italy to take skilled workers from Bangladesh, contain illegal migration
Responding to a question during a regular briefing at the US Department of State on June 7, he said that in addition to security cooperation, there is potential for enhanced cooperation on climate, trade and many other issues.
Also read: US consistent on the need for free, fair election in Bangladesh: White House
“So of course, this is an issue that continues to be of importance to us. I have spoken about this a great deal to some of your colleagues. One of them, of course, is the opportunity for security cooperation with Bangladesh,” Patel said when asked about boosting US engagement in counterterrorism in Bangladesh.
Also read: Won’t get into specific election results in another country, Vedant Patel says on Gazipur City Polls
US consistent on the need for free, fair election in Bangladesh: White House
The United States has reiterated its call for holding a free and fair election in Bangladesh.
“We’ve been consistent on the need for Bangladesh to hold free and fair elections,” said National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby at a media briefing at the White House.
Kirby made the remarks when his attention was drawn to the much-discussed letter from six congressmen to US President Joe Biden, seeking measures for a free and fair election in Bangladesh.
Read: US calls upcoming national election an 'internal' affair of Bangladesh
“Look, we’ve been consistent, and I’m aware of the communication,” Kirby said.
To demonstrate that commitment, he said, the State Department recently announced a “3C” visa policy that would restrict visas to individuals who “undermine” Bangladesh’s elections.
On Monday, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam said there are many “exaggerations, lack of information and inconsistency” in the letter from the six US congressmen to President Biden.
Read: US doesn’t endorse one political party over another in Bangladesh: State Department
“But constructively, we will reach out to all these members,” he told reporters while responding to a question, noting that such activities might increase in the coming days as the election nears.
Talking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam said they saw such letters in the past, too.
Read: Exaggeration, inconsistency in Congressmen’s letter: Shahriar Alam
“Over the last seven days, I tried my best to explain where the relationship between Bangladesh and the United States stands today,” he said, adding that propaganda and misinformation against the government was also there earlier.
US defense secretary discusses upgrading ties with India to counter China
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday discussed upgrading partnership with India, a major arms buyer, as both countries grapple with China's economic rise and increased belligerence, officials said.
Austin met with India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, with both sides emphasizing technology partnerships including defense, clean energy and space. India is working to promote its domestic defense industry by acquiring technology and reducing reliance on imports, particularly from Russia, its largest supplier of military hardware despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.
"I'm returning to India to meet with key leaders for discussions about strengthening our Major Defense Partnership. Together, we're advancing a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," Austin tweeted after his arrival in New Delhi on Sunday.
Also Read: Indian Army Chief arrives in Dhaka on 2-day visit
Austin, who is on his second visit to India, was expected to lay the groundwork for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington on June 22, which has fuelled speculation about a possible announcement of defense contracts.
India is looking to buy 18 armed high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. for an estimated $1.5 billion to $2 billion, said Rahul Bedi, a defense analyst. The UAVs would likely be deployed along its restive borders with China and Pakistan and in the strategic Indian Ocean region, Bedi said.
Indian media reports said a joint production and manufacture of combat aircraft engines, infantry combat vehicles, howitzers and their precision ordnance were discussed last month in Washington at a meeting of the U.S.-India Defense Policy Group.
Austin arrived in New Delhi from Singapore, where he attended the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual forum bringing together top defense officials, diplomats and leaders. Austin lobbied for support for Washington's vision of a "free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights" as the best course to counter increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region.
Also Read: ‘Asian Century’ presents an opportunity to South Asia: India
China's Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu said at the conference that the U.S. has been "deceiving and exploiting" Asia-Pacific nations to advance its own self-interests to preserve "its dominant position."
Li suggested that Washington has been holding on to alliances that are "remnants of the Cold War" and establishing new pacts, like the AUKUS agreement with Britain and Australia and the Quad grouping with Australia, India and Japan, "to divide the world into ideologically-driven camps and provoke confrontation."
India is trying a balancing act in its ties with Washington and Moscow, and has been reducing its dependence on Russian arms by also buying from the U.S., France, Germany and other countries.
The U.S. defense trade with India has risen from near zero in 2008 to over $20 billion in 2020. Major Indian purchases from the United States included long-range maritime patrol aircraft, C-130 transport aircraft, missiles and drones.
Experts say up to 60% of Indian defense equipment comes from Russia, and New Delhi finds itself in a bind at a time when it is facing a 3-year-old border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, where tens of thousands of soldiers are stationed within shooting distance. Twenty Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops died in a clash in 2020.
Relations with US still 'excellent', insists Hasan Mahmud
Information Minister Hasan Mahmud said the relationship between Bangladesh and the United States remains excellent despite recent comment regarding US sanctions by PM Sheikh Hasina.
“We have taken several positive decisions in recent times to enhance our relations with the United States,” he said, while speaking at a press briefing in the Secretariat this afternoon.
Mahmud emphasized the government's desire to strengthen ties with the US.
Also Read: PM strikes defiant tone in face of US pressure
Highlighting the need to diversify trade opportunities, Mahmud mentioned that Bangladesh has not been able to increase trade with countries of South America.
He also stressed the importance of expanding trade with the Middle East beyond labour export, given the increased purchasing power and awareness in the region.
He also emphasized the trade potential in ASEAN countries and the Oceania region, citing the Prime Minister's interest in exploring these opportunities.
Also Read: New visa policy to help PM Hasina's govt in holding fair elections: US
“Prime Minister's remarks regarding the US visa policy were intended to alleviate concerns and ease tension for those worried about obtaining US visas,” he said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said it doesn't matter at all if someone goes to the USA crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a 20-hour- plane journey.
“There are other oceans and other continents in the world, we will make friends with those continents crossing the other oceans. Our economy will be stronger and more developed and vibrant,” she said firmly.
Also Read: US govt’s new visa policy does not bother Bangladesh government: Shahriar Alam
Hasan Mahmud also mentioned that Bangladesh's budget deficit stands at 5.2 percent, whereas in comparison, India's deficit is 5.9 percent, the United States' is 6 percent, and the United Kingdom's is 5.5 percent.
He referred to the proposed budget for 2023-24 as "people-friendly and poor-friendly," stating that the government aims to increase the number of direct beneficiaries and the number of allowances provided.
Also Read: People, not PM, to decide whether they go to USA or not: BNP
He further said that around two crore people would directly receive various forms of government assistance, including financial aid.
In addition, he announced that a list containing the names of individuals involved in arson attacks, as well as their instigators and financiers, would be disseminated to relevant authorities.