Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh has sought continued US support to resolve Rohingya crisis as more Rohingyas fleeing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to seek safety in Bangladesh.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali raised the issue during his meeting with the visiting acting assistant secretary of US Department of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells on Tuesday.
Alice Wells arrived in Dhaka yesterday on a two-day visit to discuss security situation, energy cooperation and regional issues apart from bilateral matters.
While discussing the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the acting assistant secretary said the current situation in Myanmar is ‘quite concerning’.
The foreign minister described the evolving situation there, including the recent initiatives taken by the government of Bangladesh in this regard.
He also underlined Bangladesh’s full support to the report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State led by Kofi Annan and hoped that the Myanmar government would do the needful keeping in view the recommendations made in that report.
However, during the meeting, the US official commended Bangladesh’s ‘tremendous’ role in counterterrorism initiatives saying her country will continue to cooperate in this area.
Terming the bilateral relationship between the two countries as ‘extraordinary’, she said the United States attaches great values to its ties with Bangladesh.
The US official also met Prime Minister’s three advisers — Security Advisor Major General (retd) Tarique Siddiqui, Energy Adviser Dr Tawfiq-e- Elahi Chowdhury and International Affairs Advisor Gowher Rizvi — on the first day of her visit.
She will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday, a senior official told The New nation.
The US official is scheduled to have meetings with business leaders and civil society representatives to discuss US cooperation in the region before her departure today.
On September 1, Alice Wells will speak at the Indian Ocean Conference in Colombo, which will bring together high-level officials from around the world to discuss peace, progress and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region.
