Speaking at the Asian Society dinner in Washington on Monday, US State Department's Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns also noted that despite these concerns, Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Mohammad Yunus has earned an important distinction for Bangladesh.

"Can its (Bangladesh) leadership put aside their differences to lead the country forward in peace? That is the central question to ask as we approach 2007," Burns said. He also noted that there are reasons to be concerned about the current state of political violence as the country moves toward elections in January.

The under-secretary also urged the political parties to resolve their differences through dialogue, as "The people of Bangladesh deserve free, fair, non-violent and credible elections."

Burns, however, feels that in stark contrast to the political concerns, Dr Yunus provides a positive vision for the country. "Bangladesh has recently earned an important distinction, it's citizen Mohammed Yunus and the Grameen Bank won the Nobel Peace Prize for their ground-breaking efforts in micro-credit and other initiatives."

"He is a remarkably selfless person and he inspired me with his ambitious and even audacious vision that all of the families in his country should have access to capital to improve their lives," Burns said adding he met with Dr Yunus in Washington last week to discuss how the US can implement its own foreign assistance more effectively for maximum impact.

Burns also stressed the pivotal importance of Bangladesh to the future of South Asia because of its "Advantage of size, a growing economy, and a talented population."

The US under-secretary, however, feels that Bangladesh must effectively tackle corruption and failure to do so, will undermine confidence in government and in the Bangladeshi economy. The US will work with civil society and Bangladeshis to help combat corruption, he added.

The speech titled "US Policy in South Asia" was published in the US Department of State website.