US Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister Afrin Akhter is coming to Dhaka

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Afrin Akhtar is coming to Dhaka next week to discuss the further development of Dhaka-Washington relations. This will be the visit of a senior US official to Dhaka after the 12th National Assembly elections.

According to diplomatic sources, Afrin Akhtar may come to Bangladesh on a three-day visit on February 24.

Afrin Akhtar visited Dhaka last October before the parliamentary elections. This was the first visit of a senior US official to Bangladesh before the elections.

According to diplomatic sources, Afrin Akhtar will hold an official meeting with the Director General (North America Division) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Khandaker Masood Alam during his three-day visit to Dhaka. Besides, he can have a courtesy meeting with Foreign Secretary Masood Bin Momen.

The Bangladesh Awami League government has differences of opinion with the United States over free and fair elections. The US did not change its position on the matter before and after the election. In this context, US President Joe Biden wrote a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the beginning of this month. In that letter, he mentioned the 'unique desire' to advance the relationship between the two countries.

According to diplomatic sources, Afrin Akhtar's visit to Bangladesh is likely to discuss the establishment of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, climate change, economic development and Rohingya refugees as well as the current situation in Myanmar.

Afrin Akhtar came to Bangladesh in October last year. Talking to Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, he said, the United States continues to express its hope for a free, fair and peaceful election in Bangladesh. Therefore, the country will keep a close eye on the political situation of Bangladesh in view of the upcoming national parliament elections. The United States is pushing for a peaceful transition to democracy in Bangladesh to advance the important partnership between the two countries.

Joe Biden's letter is qualitatively different from their positions at regular US briefings in Washington on differences between the two countries over the election. Especially in the letter written to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the President of the United States avoided the issue of elections. When attention was drawn to this, the senior diplomats of Bangladesh said that the foreign policy of the democratic party will always have values like democracy and good governance. However, the United States will keep in mind the issue of partnership in the post-election situation of Bangladesh.