US administration
A big moment for Bangladesh and its relations with US: South Asia specialist
Director of the South Asia Institute at Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. Michael Kugelman has said it may be more difficult for the US to make a “conclusive judgment” on the upcoming national election results in Bangladesh if opposition BNP boycotts it.
“Because if the Awami League is running against itself, if it gets 98% of the vote, you can't say that those votes were taken away from the BNP. So it's all very unsettled,” he told UNB in an interview, noting that the Biden administration wants a free and fair election in Bangladesh and at the end of the day, the US wants to have a good relationship with Bangladesh.
The government of Bangladesh keeps reiterating that it is committed to holding a “free, fair and peaceful” election in the country. The next national election is likely to be held in December this year or January next.
EU expects next election in Bangladesh to be free, fair and free from violence: Gilmore in exclusive interview
US unveils strategy for global vaccine sharing with Bangladesh, India on list
The US Administration has unveiled its strategy for global vaccine sharing through COVAX, keeping Bangladesh and India on the list.
The Biden-Harris Administration on Thursday announced an allocation plan for the first 25 million doses to be shared globally.
Approximately 7 million doses will be shared in Asia covering countries and entities, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Maldives, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands, according to White House.
As they continue to fight the Covid-19 pandemic at home and work to end the pandemic worldwide, US President Joe Biden has promised that the United States will be an arsenal of vaccines for the world.
Also read: COVAX Facility: Japan to provide 30mn vaccine doses to other countries
To do that, the administration will pursue several additional measures beyond their robust funding for COVAX: Donating from the US vaccine supply to the world and encouraging other nations to do the same, working with US manufacturers to increase vaccine production for the rest of the world, and help more countries expand their own capacity to produce vaccines, including through support for global supply chains.
This vaccine strategy is a vital component of our overall global strategy to lead the world in the fight to defeat Covid-19, including emergency public health assistance and aid to stop the spread and building global public health capacity and readiness to beat not just this pandemic, but the next one.
The administration announced its framework for sharing at least 80 million US vaccine doses globally by the end of June and the plan for the first 25 million doses.
The United States will share vaccines in service of ending the pandemic globally.
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The administration announced its framework for sharing these 80 million US vaccine doses worldwide.
US support behind vaccine patent waiver ‘monumental moment’ in Covid fight: WHO
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has hailed the US administration's decision to support temporary vaccine patent waiver as a "monumental moment" in the global fight against Covid-19.
"This is a monumental moment in the fight against Covid-19. The commitment by the President of the United States Joe Biden and Ambassador Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, to support the waiver of IP protections on vaccines is a powerful example of American leadership to address global health challenges,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday.
Also Read:WHO, Germany to launch new global hub for pandemic, epidemic intelligence
“I commend the US on its historic decision for vaccine equity and prioritizing the well-being of all people everywhere at a critical time. Now let's all move together swiftly, in solidarity, building on the ingenuity and commitment of scientists who produced life-saving Covid-19 vaccines."
On Wednesday, Ambassador Kai issued a statement saying the extraordinary circumstances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic required extraordinary measures to respond and that the waiving of intellectual property protections on vaccines was needed to help end the pandemic.
The US would, the statement continued, participate in World Trade Organization negotiations to support the temporary waiving of protections, and work with the private sector and other partners to expand vaccine manufacturing and distribution.
Dr Tedros said the White House’s support for the temporary waiving of intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines reflects the wisdom and moral leadership of the US to work towards ending the pandemic.
Also Read:Bangladeshi doctor made WHO Representative to Maldives
"But I am not surprised by this announcement. This is what I expected from the administration of President Biden.”
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic WHO has been working with partners to scale up the development and distribution of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments through the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator, a pillar of which is the COVAX Facility for equitable sharing of vaccines to at-risk people worldwide.
Make no mistake; take action: Kerry on dealing with climate crisis together
John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, on Friday laid emphasis on taking action without taking any mistake to deal with the global climate crisis noting that the US administration is looking for greater collaboration with Bangladesh on the issue.
“So, we know from the scientists - we must all take action,” he said seeking joint efforts to protect the countries, citizens and the future generations as no single country can solve the climate crisis today.
Kerry made the remarks at a joint media briefing at State guesthouse Padma after his meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at the same venue.
“We’ve the ability to work together now in order to bring technology, research, development and finance to the table to do what we know we must do,” he said.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shahab Uddin, Saber Hossain Chowdhy, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, Special Envoy for the Vulnerable Forum Presidency Abul Kalam Azad, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller were present.
The visit underscored the US commitment to strengthen implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change designed to limit global warming.
Also read: US focuses on Myanmar issues; lauds Bangladesh's extraordinary generosity
As part of the Paris outcome, developed countries were urged to scale up their level of support with a concrete roadmap to achieve the goal of mobilising US$100 billion per year for climate action in developing countries.
Dhaka conveys coolness towards security sphere cooperation with Washington
Bangladesh has conveyed to the United States that it is giving much focus on infrastructure development for overall economic growth of the country and showed no interest towards security aspects of the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS).
Stop giving publicity to nuisance: FM on 13 diplomats’ jt statement
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Monday suggested the media boycott and stop giving publicity to statements from foreign missions expressing concern over Bangladesh’s internal issues saying Bangladesh never expresses concerns over any matter in the US or elsewhere.
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