US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu arrives in Dhaka

Lu is the diplomat overseeing the US State Department on South and Central Asian affairs

Donald Lu, the US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, has arrived in Dhaka for the first time since the Awami League came to power for a fourth consecutive term.

He was greeted at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by Khandker Masudul Alam, the head of the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry’s North American Wing, after landing on Tuesday morning.

The Foreign Ministry said on Facebook and X that Lu is in Dhaka for a three-day visit.

The US official’s itinerary kicks off with a dinner at the home of Salman F Rahman, the prime minister’s adviser on private industry and investment on Tuesday night.

Lu is to meet with Saber Hossain Chowdhury, the minister of environment, forest, and climate change, on Wednesday morning. Afterwards, he will sit for bilateral talks with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.

He will also hold a courtesy meeting with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud and representatives from civil society.

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said on Monday that the visa ban on RAB and its former and current officials will be among the topics of discussion during his visit.

Foreign Minister Hasan said, "We have an excellent relationship with the United States. After Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was elected for the fourth time, US President Joe Biden wrote a letter on taking this relationship to a new height. Whichever member of the US administration comes, that discussion will continue."

In December 2021, the US imposed sanctions on the RAB and seven of its former and current officials, alleging serious human rights violations.

After that, the government of Bangladesh requested a withdrawal of the ban, but the United States has yet to do so. The US has maintained that the process of lifting the sanctions is quite 'complicated'.

According to a notice from the US State Department, Lu is coming to Bangladesh after visits to India and Sri Lanka. Washington has expressed hope that bilateral relations between the United States and the host countries will be strengthened through his visit.

Although he has visited Dhaka several times before, it is the first time he has been in Bangladesh since the 12th national parliamentary elections.

A month after the formation of the new government, Eileen H Laubacher, special assistant to the president of the United States and senior director of South Asia Affairs of the National Security Council (NSC) visited Dhaka in the last week of February.

She was accompanied by USAID Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia Michael Schiffer at that time.