Bangladesh studying US Indo-Pacific Strategy: Momen

Ahead of United States official Donald Lu’s visit, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Friday said that Bangladesh stood ready to do whatever was needed for the people’s welfare, noting that the government is still studying the issues related to US Indo-Pacific Strategy.

‘It’s not that transparent. It’s not mentioned there how it will bring benefits. We are studying,’ he told reporters while talking about the IPS and its economic component.

Donald Lu, who became assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on September 15, 2021, is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on January 14 wrapping up his India tour.

‘We will raise our issues. It’s very normal to have good relations between Bangladesh and the United States,’ Momen said.

Donald Lu will have meetings on a range of priorities including energy, trade, security cooperation, religious freedom, labour and human rights.

He will meet with senior Bangladeshi officials and civil society leaders to discuss strengthening their bilateral relationship, expanding economic engagement and hear their perspectives on labour and human rights, according to the US Department of State.

Momen said that Bangladesh and the US believed in the same values and promote democracy and human rights.

Bangladesh has set an example in the world by sacrificing 30 lakh lives to establish democracy, ensure justice and human rights, Momen said, adding, ‘Our principles and values are almost the same’.

He said that the US was a friendly country and Bangladesh accepted if they came up with any constructive suggestions.

Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen said that he saw the visit of assistant secretary Lu as part of regular engagements between the two sides.

‘We will discuss whole range of issues, not that only election and human rights issues will be discussed,’ said the foreign secretary.

He said that there were many areas where Bangladesh had some expectations while the US side might have some expectations from Bangladesh. ‘We will discuss frankly,’ he added.

The foreign secretary said that there were strategies on Indo-Pacific from the US, Canada, Japan and the European Union.

‘It’s not that we are joining in any particular group or not. We are preparing some elements on how we want to see the Bay of Bengal and beyond,’ Masud said.

During her visit to Bangladesh last week, US senior director for South Asia, National Security Council Eileen Laubacher said that as a large portion of the Indo-Pacific region, the Bay of Bengal contained vital shipping lanes and undersea cables that power the region’s economies by moving food, fuel, goods and data.

Ensuring these lanes remain free and open is imperative for the economic health and national security of the United States, Bangladesh and all countries in the region, she told media.

The Bay is also a vital ecosystem and a microcosm for many of the shared non-traditional security issues ‘We face across the globe, from stemming the effects of climate change, countering illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing that can devastate food sources, and combating the trafficking of people, arms, and narcotics,’ she said.

‘These challenges cannot be overcome alone, they require cooperation,’ she said adding that the United States and Bangladesh are working hard to address these challenges. ‘This is part of our shared vision for a free and open, connected, prosperous, secure and resilient Indo-Pacific region,’ she said.