U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor paid a courtesy call on the Honorable Prime Minister of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Tarique Rahman.
The meeting took place in a warm and cordial atmosphere at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tejgaon at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday (August 1).
The Special Envoy stated that the U.S. Government has strong confidence in the Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s leadership. He noted that stability has returned to Bangladesh under the Prime Minister’s leadership. As an indication of this confidence, he said, the United States has made a positive revision to its existing travel advisory for Bangladesh. He added that this would send an important signal to U.S. investors that Bangladesh is now ready for investment.
The meeting also included discussions on the Rohingya crisis. The Special Envoy shared his observations from his visit to the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar the previous day. He highly praised the Government and people of Bangladesh for providing shelter to the Rohingya refugees and for continuing humanitarian assistance.
The Prime Minister noted that more than half of the international assistance provided for the Rohingya comes from the United States and expressed his gratitude to the U.S. Government and people for their support. The Special Envoy emphasized the importance of achieving a sustainable and political solution to the Rohingya crisis.
The two sides also agreed to work together on the resumption of testing activities in Bangladesh in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The Prime Minister invited greater U.S. investment in Bangladesh.The Prime Minister also invited U.S. investment in warehousing facilities for soybeans, cotton, wheat, and other agricultural commodities. He said that investment in these sectors would help establish a stronger and more competitive supply chain. The Prime Minister also highlighted Bangladesh’s strong interest in attracting investment in the information technology (IT) sector.
The Special Envoy observed that Bangladesh has significant potential in this sector and could, in the future, become a partner in the PAX Silica initiative.
Also present at the meeting were Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman; the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Humaiun Kobir; State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam; the Prime Minister’s Advisers Rehan Asif Asad and Mahdi Amin; Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Washington, Tarek Md Ariful Islam; U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent Christensen; and other senior officials.