Bangladesh hosts high US diplomats, seeks assist to finish post-Hasina reforms

This handout supplied by the Press Info Division of Bangladesh (PID) exhibits Brent Neiman, U.S. Below Secretary of the Treasury for Worldwide Finance and Improvement, left, talking with Muhammad Yunus, chief of Bangladesh’s interim authorities, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sept. 15, 2024. | Picture credit score: AP

On Sunday, September 15, 2024, Bangladesh requested U.S. help in implementing the interim authorities’s reform agenda. Senior Advisor Professor Mohammed Yunus conveyed the interim authorities’s necessities to a multi-agency delegation led by U.S. Below Secretary of the Treasury for Worldwide Finance and Improvement Brent Neiman and Assistant Secretary of State for the South and Central Asia Bureau Donald Lu.

Mr Yunus briefed the visiting US delegation on the prevailing state of affairs in Bangladesh for the reason that Awami League authorities led by Sheikh Hasina fell following protests stemming from a pupil rebellion. He mentioned the interim authorities had constituted six commissions to reform varied segments of the Bangladeshi state, together with the judiciary, police, election fee and structure, apart from launching an anti-corruption crew. The go to is being intently watched as it’s the first high-level US delegation to go to Bangladesh after the autumn of Sheikh Hasina, who was extensively recognized to be important of the US administration.

“We have been submerged in an ocean of corruption,” Yunus advised the U.S. officers in line with an announcement carried by BSS, Bangladesh’s state-run media outlet. The assembly, which lasted an hour, additionally addressed the continued labor unrest within the nation that has led to the closure of numerous garment factories in Bangladesh, the Rohingya disaster and Yunus’ upcoming go to to New York.

The US multi-agency crew stopped in New Delhi for bilateral consultations earlier than arriving in Dhaka on Saturday. The go to to India by Donald Lu-Brent Neiman’s delegation led some commentators to counsel that the US is probably going conscious of India’s considerations following the autumn of Sheikh Hasina’s authorities. This context has led distinguished Bangladesh watcher Jon Danilowicz to say in an article in Dhaka Tribune“Will probably be necessary for the American aspect to reassure their Bangladeshi counterparts that they don’t seem to be singing another person’s track.” The interim authorities has criticised Sheikh Hasina, who is predicated in India, the place she took refuge after shedding energy.

An necessary end result of the go to was the signing of an settlement between USAID and Bangladesh that can pave the way in which for a $200 million grant to Dhaka. “@USAID signed a $200 million settlement with the interim authorities of Bangladesh to advertise growth, empower youth, strengthen democracy and governance, enhance well being, and broaden enterprise and financial alternatives for individuals throughout the nation,” USAID Bangladesh mentioned in an announcement after the settlement.

The settlement was signed by Monetary Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed and International Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain. International Secretary Md Jashim Uddin briefed reporters and mentioned the dialogue with the US delegation lined all points falling underneath the purview of “bilateral ties”, indicating that India-Bangladesh ties didn’t determine within the talks. Replying to a query on a potential assembly between Mr Yunus and US President Joe Biden in New York, International Secretary Md Jashim Uddin mentioned a bilateral assembly was not on the desk but however indicated that an interplay was potential as there are social occasions deliberate on the sidelines of the annual session of the UN Basic Meeting.

The caretaker authorities led by Mr Yunus assumed energy on 7 August and has centered on the regulation and order state of affairs, which has confronted growing challenges just lately. Along with stories of assaults on Awami League activists, violence has additionally focused Islamic Sufi shrines.