Focus on the future as US seeks to reboot relations with Bangladesh

The Biden administration seeks to strengthen ties with the Hasina government it criticised over election, human rights

In a gesture of reconciliation, President Joe Biden has dispatched his Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu to Dhaka for a three-day visit, infusing a fresh, positive dynamic into relations previously marred by tensions over democratic governance and human rights issues.

Officials were all smiles on the first two days of Lu’s tour that saw different kinds of meetings with social media personalities, dedicated volunteers and activists fighting air pollution, a dinner meeting with policymakers, a culinary adventure and a cricket match.

The US Embassy in Dhaka published on Facebook vibrant photos and videos of Lu, accompanied by outgoing Ambassador Peter Haas, sipping tea with young social media personalities, preparing Fuchka and Jhalmuri, or playing cricket.

Lu, who is part of the US State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, said it was a “wonderful experience” to be back.

This is Lu’s first visit to Bangladesh since the Awami League’s fourth consecutive election win in January.

He arrived four days after the White House announced the appointment of David Meale, a former deputy chief of mission in Dhaka, as the next US Ambassador to Bangladesh.

During his previous stint here, Meale had watched closely months of crippling violence unleashed during opposition protests centring the 2014 polls, and the Sheikh Hasina government’s bid to keep the wheel of the economy running.

Meale's appointment and Lu's tour herald a diplomatic recalibration of ties after the Jan 7 general election which drew scrutiny from the US for concerns over its integrity.

Diplomatic tensions had intensified after the US imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on Bangladeshi public officials, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina accused the Americans of attempting to instigate a regime change.

Now, in a strategic pivot, the Biden administration has been working to strengthen economic and geopolitical ties with Bangladesh.

SHIFT TO ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

The events attended by Lu looked fun, but he discussed serious issues in the meetings with senior government figures.

“They work in laughter and fun, not just being serious. They engage with the people through many ways,” observed former Bangladesh ambassador to the US Humayun Kabir.

“Although we’re not a very large economy, Bangladesh has the fourth largest population in the Indo-Pacific. And its geographical position has a strategic value. That’s why they have such engagements with Bangladesh’s people,” he said.

The international affairs observer described the discussions held by Lu as a “shift in US’ priorities”.

“They are talking about looking forward, but it doesn’t mean that their position has changed. They haven’t left out issues like free and fair elections, human rights, democracy and labour policy reforms,” he said.

“But their priorities have changed. They are prioritising the economy, in which democracy and human rights play a role of catalysts. They had said this earlier, they are saying it now and they will say it in future.

After a meeting with Lu, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud noted that the US is the largest destination of Bangladesh’s exports as a single country. It is also the biggest investor in Bangladesh and one of the top countries from where Bangladesh gets remittances.

He requested Lu to increase investment in 40 IT villages being developed in Bangladesh, along with more investments in the Special Economic Zones.

They discussed labour policy reforms to get back GSP facilities and financing fron the Development Finance Corporation to strengthen Bangladesh’s dollar reserves.

“They also want to help us modernise our tax system. Only 2.7 million people pay tax although 120 million are eligible,” the minister added.

‘NO BITTER TASTE’

Mahmud described his discussions with Lu about advancing ties as “very fruitful.”

“President Biden congratulated Prime Minister Hasina on her fifth term in office. He expressed a desire to elevate our bilateral relations to a new level, a goal that Donald Lu’s visit aims to fulfill,” he said.

Asked if the “bitterness” in the relationship with the US has ended, the foreign minister clarified that it was never about bitterness but rather about mutual concerns typical among nations.

He said the election was not discussed with Lu. “He visited Bangladesh to explore deeper cooperation with us.”

Acknowledging the impact of the 2021 sanctions imposed on the Rapid Action Battalion over human rights issues, Mahmud expressed a desire to move past these issues, a sentiment echoed by Lu.

Regarding the US visa policy, the foreign minister remarked that it is "currently dormant" and was not a subject of their discussions.

COOPERATION ON POSITIVE ISSUES

In a media briefing after the meeting with Mahmud, Lu said: “I’ve visited Bangladesh over these last two days in order to try to rebuild the trust between our peoples.”

“Last year we know there were a lot of tensions between the US and Bangladesh. The US worked very hard to promote free, fair and nonviolent elections here and it caused some tensions.”

“This is common in our relationship. We want to look forward and not look back. We want to find ways to strengthen our relationship. And so I spoke to the minister today about working on the hard things in our relationship.”

Lots of difficult issues have still to be resolved between the two countries, the senior diplomat said.

“RAB sanctions, we have labour reforms, human rights and business climate reforms. But in order to work on these hard issues, we want to build up the cooperation we have on positive issues.”

“We're talking about new investments, we’re talking about the ability of more Bangladeshi students to study in the US, and we're talking about how we can work together on clean energy.”

Lu said he also spoke with the foreign minister on the issue of corruption.

“We can do so much to promote the transparency of governments, to promote accountability of officials who may have committed acts of corruption. And we were recently invited by the minister to help Bangladesh broaden its tax base so that all Bangladeshis are paying their fair share.”

CLIMATE

After meeting Lu, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said, "Our discussion focused on how we can advance the relationship between Bangladesh and America in the future. We talked about how Bangladesh and America can work together to deal with the impact of climate change.”

"We talked about the future, not about the past. I want to inform you all in advance to facilitate the questions from reporters."

“When talking about the climate, issues of environment, forests and biodiversity come up. We will try to bring cooperation in these areas into a framework in the coming days. So maybe we could have something like a working group. We will undertake a five-year programme. What will be done under this programme each year will be laid out.”

The environment minister said, “The American private sector is also interested in the programme to combat climate change. American companies are interested in parts of our Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan.”

Saber Hossain said that fruitful discussions also took place regarding the free cooperation of NASA's satellite images for environment and climate protection in the future.

He said, "In today's discussion on environment and climate, we both had the same position. We not only discussed financial cooperation, but also mutual cooperation in research and getting technical information. NASA has several satellites currently providing data to several countries. Maybe in the future they will provide this satellite data for South Asian countries. They will also consider Bangladesh and maybe we will get it at a very low cost or for free.”

"Through the data we will get real-time data? on where deforestation is happening, where the sea level is rising. It will be big for us. We have a coalition with them on smart agriculture. A good fruitful discussion took place on these issues. Based on today's discussion, we will sit and define the areas where work is necessary in the coming days."

[Writing in English by Osham-Ul-Sufian Talukder; editing by Biswadip Das]