Outgoing US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller has said the relationship between Bangladesh and the United States is "strong and will grow stronger". "As Senator Edward Kennedy said at Dhaka University in 1972, the real foreign policy of America is citizen to citizen, friend to friend, people to people. I hope I contributed in some small way to strengthening our friend-to-friend bonds," he said in his pre-departure message on Friday evening.

Outgoing US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller has said Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury is a "role model and inspiration" for women leaders in government. He said Dr Chaudhury has been an invaluable partner, counselor and friend. "Greatly enjoyed our farewell discussion on enhancing engagement between Bangladesh Parliament and the US Congress," Ambassador Miller tweeted after his meeting with the Speaker on Thursday.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller has said their engagement in the Indo-Pacific is not against any country and it is not designed to make anyone to choose between countries, noting that the US is not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocks. While delivering his keynote speech at a virtual dialogue hosted by Cosmos Foundation, he said Bangladesh is a sovereign independent nation that decides itself what organization or partnership it chooses to join. “The United States wants Bangladesh to succeed. We seek to grow the US-Bangladesh partnership because we believe it’s in the best interest of both our people,” said Ambassador Miller. The Ambassador said their engagement in the Indo-Pacific is about advancing an optimistic vision that they have their participation and partnership in the region. Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, hosted the dialogue titled “Bangladesh-US Relations: Prognosis for the Future” as part of its ongoing Ambassadors' Lecture Series.

ABM Sarwer-E-Alom Sarker, assistant press secretary to the prime minister, has gifted US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller some photos of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The photos were taken at Tufts University during the US Department of State's Foreign Leaders Exchange Programme in 1958. The US ambassador tweeted the photos Thursday on his verified Twitter account.

The United States has said it is actively considering the request made by the Bangladesh government over the supply of Covid-19 vaccine doses to meet Bangladesh’s immediate needs. Bangladesh will get a reply of the letter, sent to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken by Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, within the next couple of days. “Two things he (Ambassador Miller) said. It’s (the request for vaccine doses) under active consideration and the Ambassador expects Bangladesh will get a reply as early as possible -- within a day or two,” said State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam after his meeting with US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller. While talking to a small group of journalists, including the UNB correspondent, at his office, the State Minister said they will be waiting to know the content of the reply. Also Read:Ambassador Miller praises power of young minds in Bangladesh  Meanwhile, he said, US companies are in touch with the Health Ministry as they have a long-term plan of producing vaccines in Bangladesh. The Ambassador informed that the US government is exploring the possibilities to produce US vaccines in Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies. The State Minister and the US Ambassador also discussed the ongoing cooperation between two countries in combating Covid-19 pandemic apart from the issue of providing vaccines for meeting Bangladesh’s immediate needs. The US Ambassador informed that his government is working on this, and he has recommended having a regional approach in South Asia in distributing vaccines from the US. Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said the government has sought immediate delivery of 4 million vaccine doses from the United States. The US will share up to 60 million doses of its Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine with other countries as they become available. “We’ve sought immediate release of four million doses of vaccine (in a letter sent to the US),” he told reporters, adding that he, however, sought a total of 10 to 20 million doses of vaccine from the US. Also Read: Miller discusses JRP, bilateral issues with Shahriar Dr Momen said the government wants to continue the vaccination programme collecting vaccines from alternative sources.  The Foreign Minister had a meeting with US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller at his office on Thursday. Dr Momen asked the US Ambassador whether they provided any vaccine to India. In reply, Ambassador Miller said they have provided no vaccine to India yet. The Foreign Minister said the US government needs permission from the Food and Drug Administration to export vaccines which is a time-consuming process. “But we need it immediately.”  Dr Momen said they have also written to Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar requesting for 3 million doses of vaccine to address Bangladesh's immediate needs. Bangladesh has received 7 million of Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine doses produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift. This is the largest amount sent from India to any country.