US official due in Dhaka this week

Acting assistant secretary of US Department of State for South and Central Asian Affairs and acting special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Alice Wells, will be in Dhaka on a two-day visit this week.

She will travel to Dhaka, Islamabad, and Colombo from August 28-September 2, said the US Department of State yesterday, without specifying dates for the Dhaka visit, although diplomatic sources say the Dhaka leg will span August 29-30. 

Alice Wells will meet government officials including Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, business leaders, and civil society representatives to discuss US cooperation in the region.

A diplomatic source said the US official, in her maiden trip to Dhaka on August 29-30, is likely to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's advisors on energy, defence and international affairs.