Staff Reporter :
US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have discussed the political situation in Bangladesh and the democratic rights there.
The US continues to monitor Bangladesh’s situation with much attention, a senior director of the White House said at a press conference in Washington DC on Tuesday afternoon.
The briefing was on Obama’s three-day visit to India between January 25 and 27.
In the political arena here, it was widely believed that Obama would discuss Bangladesh as he was visiting its close neighbour, India, where he touched upon a whole range of regional issues. But now, for the first, it has been officially confirmed.
Replying to a question, Phil Reiner, senior director of South Asia Affairs at the National Security Council of the White House, said that issues like democratic forces and empowerment of citizens in Bangladesh were also discussed during Obama’s visit to India. When asked about Obama’s view on Bangladesh’s current situation as he and Modi discussed regional peace and security issues, he said: “Obviously, the situation in Bangladesh is a tense one, but I think the two leaders during this visit were able to point to the power of democratic forces and what it can do to empower all of its citizens.”
“Both leaders agreed on maintaining democratic rights in Bangladesh. They also agreed that the political climate in India’s neighbour was somewhat volatile. Both are keen to see a firmly established democracy in the country,” he added.
“I think this is an ongoing conversation that we’ve seen between the two leaders and one that we take very seriously and would continue to promote,” Reiner noted at the programme titled “Readout From President Obama’s Trip to India: Perspectives on US-India Relations”.
In response to another question, he said, “One of the things that I was able to see in terms of the conversation between President Obama and Prime Minister Modi was the role that India’s democratic process and the example that it sets can play.” It is to be noted that Barack Obama was the first US President to be invited to India’s Republic Day celebrations.
