“We have given shelter to a huge number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds and it’s a big problem for us...So I call upon you to mount pressure on Myanmar in this regard,” PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim quoted the premier as saying while briefing reporters after the meeting.
The press secretary said the US assistant secretary of state wanted to know from the prime minister whether there is any political dialogue between Bangladesh and Myanmar on resolving Rohingya problem.
In reply, the prime minister said: “Our foreign office is in contact with the Myanmar authorities.”
Wells, also acting special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said the US wanted to work with Bangladesh to combat terrorism and highly appreciated the Bangladesh government’s initiatives for curbing terrorism.
In this connection, Sheikh Hasina reiterated Bangladesh “zero tolerance policy against terrorism”.
“We won’t allow our land to be used for carrying out terrorist acts in other countries,” she said.
The prime minister renewed her call for repatriation of the convicted killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who are now staying in the USA.
While talking about Bangladesh’s impressive development in different sectors under her leadership, Sheikh Hasina said the main aim of her government is to strengthen rural economy.
On promoting private sector, the prime minister said her government has open the economy to the private sector.
Pointing out that the country’s media enjoys total freedom, she said the media freely criticises the government and there is no interference from the government.
In this connection, Sheikh Hasina said there are 750 daily newspapers in the country. “We have given permission to 44 TV channels in the private sector and 24 of them are functioning,” she said.
Elaborating the government’s various steps to ensured women’s empowerment, the premier said her government has ensured women’s participation in all spheres.
She mentioned that the country’s women now occupy important positions in all sectors like administration, judiciary, education, armed forces and law-enforcement agencies.
While talking about the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and the USA, Sheikh Hasina said the volume of trade between the two countries increased manifold from only $25mn in 1996.
The US assistant secretary of state pointed out that the economic relations between the two countries have developed significantly and mentioned that US is the largest market for Bangladeshi readymade garment products.
The US assistant secretary of state praised Bangladesh’s stunning socio-economic development, especially the fact that it had achieved 7.24% GDP growth, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
PM’s International Affairs Adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi, Principal Secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury and the US charge d’affaires in Dhaka were present on the occasion.
lBangladesh has said friendly relations with Qatar will continue to grow further from the existing level despite sanction on the Gulf state by three other states.
“The economic sanctions will not affect our bilateral relationship … it will continue,” Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, also a top political aide of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, told journalists, in response to a question.
He was talking to journalists after a meeting at his Secretariat office with Qatar ambassador in Dhaka Ahmed bin Mohamed al-Dehaimi.
The Commerce Minister said Bangladesh and Qatar have long maintained good trade and economic relations, which was strengthened further recently with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which Bangladesh will import LNG. Qatar exports around 100mn tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) across the world annually.
“There will be no gas shortage after imports from Qatar start,” the minister said, adding that the construction of LNG terminal in the country would be complete by then.
He said it would also facilitate providing supply to all industries, including the ones in the special economic zones (SEZs). Tofail said that the country has a great potential to export manpower to Qatar, where a large number of Bangladeshis are already working.