Biswal to be in Dhaka after SAARC summit

The US’s South Asia point person Nisha Desai Biswal will be in Dhaka after attending the SAARC summit in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, the State Department has announced.

It said on Friday that the Assistant Secretary would start her tour of the region from India on Nov 23. She would then proceed to Kathmandu to represent the US as an observer at the 18th SAARC Summit.

The State Department said she would travel to Bangladesh after Nepal without specifying the date of her arrival or the duration of her stay.

The SAARC summit will end on Nov 27.

During her stay in Bangladesh, the state department says she will have meetings with Bangladeshi government officials, members of the civil society, labour leaders, and members of the business community.

Earlier, quoting official sources bdnews24.com had confirmed her visit, just a year after her last visit ahead of the much talked about Jan 5 elections.

She had pitched for a dialogue to resolve the political crisis over the nature of the poll-time administration.

The BNP boycotted the elections and the US did not find them credible, as more than half of the seats returned uncontested winners.

Washington also called for fresh elections as soon as possible on the basis of a consensus.

It is believed Biswal will take stock of the post-poll situation in Bangladesh.

The US is the single largest export destination for Bangladeshi products, though it suspended last year the GSP privilege that some products used to enjoy, prompted by factory safety and workers rights concerns.

The US and Bangladesh hold regular “partnership dialogues” among other engagement.

From Dhaka, Biswal would go to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, for the Annual Bilateral Consultations, says the State Department.

Biswal would hold consultations and bilateral meetings in India as well.