Bangladesh President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that there is scope to make the Bangladesh-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade more balanced and mutually beneficial by taking into account the economic realities and interests of both countries.
The president said the agreement was an important step toward expanding trade relations between Bangladesh and the United States.
He made the remarks when US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T Christensen paid a courtesy call on him at Bangabhaban.
During the meeting, President Mirza Fakhrul recalled US investment and cooperation in the development of Bangladesh’s agricultural sector, including support for the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute and the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute. He urged the United States to further increase investment and cooperation in the country’s agriculture sector.
The president also highlighted the important role of US-based Chevron in Bangladesh’s energy sector and called for increased US investment in the sector.
He said Bangladesh has significant investment potential in various sectors, including information technology, infrastructure, healthcare and high-tech industries. He also emphasized the importance of technology and skills transfer in expanding such cooperation.
President Mirza Fakhrul urged the United States to review and simplify the existing “visa bond” system for Bangladeshi businesspeople and genuine tourists travelling to the US.
He also sought continued US support for the safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to their homeland.
Ambassador Christensen assured the president of continued US cooperation on the issue and stressed the need to strengthen cooperation among ASEAN countries in this regard.
During the meeting, the US ambassador congratulated Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on assuming the office of president and conveyed his best wishes to him.
Thanking the ambassador, President Mirza Fakhrul said the United States is one of Bangladesh’s important development and trade partners. He said the existing trade relations between the two countries have been playing an important role in Bangladesh’s economic development.
Bangladesh believes in maintaining friendly relations with all countries and expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation, the president said.
He added that Bangladesh attaches the highest importance to the principles of independence, sovereignty, national interest, mutual respect and equality in international relations.
The president expressed hope that Bangladesh-US relations would be further expanded in the coming days through mutual respect and the protection of shared interests.
The US ambassador reaffirmed his country’s interest in further deepening and broadening relations with Bangladesh.
Ref: Bangladesh Media.
