Anti-Terror Efforts: Bangladesh,US officials to meet on October 2
The US and Bangladesh officials are going to discuss enhancing collaboration in countering extremism and terrorism and cooperation in defence in Dhaka on October 2.
The government and military officials of both the countries are having the meeting following the July 1 terror attack that left 22 people, including 17 foreigners, killed in Gulshan.
This will be the fifth dialogue on security issues between Dhaka and Washington.
More than a dozen of US officials from the US Department of State, US Defence, Homeland Security, the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and other agencies are likely to attend the daylong dialogue.
They would expect updates on the US proposals on countering violent extremism placed after the killing of US embassy's locally hired staff Xulhaz Mannan on April 25 and the July 1 killings at Holey Artisan Bakery.
Additional Foreign Secretary (Bilateral) Kamrul Ahsan would lead the Bangladesh delegation comprised of senior officials of the Armed Forces Division, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and different ministries.
Sources say the fifth dialogue will get special importance against the backdrop of the July 1 attack as Dhaka and Washington are committed to working closely to combat terrorism and violent extremism.
Diplomatic sources say the dialogue might have several sessions with specific agendas on identification of shared priorities in combating violent extremism and terrorism, military and security issues, UN peacekeeping operations, cyber security, global terrorism and technology and information sharing to face militancy and natural disasters, vulnerability to disasters, and secured navigation system.
Bangladesh and the US will seek intensified cooperation in a broader spectrum involving issues like counterterrorism, vulnerability to disasters, secured navigation system and internal and regional security issues.
Sources said Bangladesh and the US would discuss ways to further strengthen security cooperation between the two countries with specific focus on mechanisms to counter extremism and terrorism in a better way linking recent spate of attacks which ISIS reportedly has taken credit for.
Highly-placed sources say the US has planned for an extensive engagement with the Asian countries, including Bangladesh, for global security against terrorism and secured navigation to protect the world trade process.
According to the Department of State, the US recognises that Bangladesh has been playing a vital role in ensuring security and stability regionally and globally. It has also recognised the strategic importance of Bangladesh and considered Dhaka as an important partner of the US in dealing with many traditional and non-traditional security threats.
Dhaka and Washington currently have three structured forum for dialogue -- US-Bangladesh Dialogue on Security Issues, Bangladesh-US Partnership Dialogue and US-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa).
The first security dialogue was held in Dhaka on April 19, 2012, the second one in Washington in April 2013, the third on April 22, 2014 in Dhaka and the fourth dialogue in Washington on September 11, 2015.