Bangladesh key player in Bay: US
US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, Andrew J Shapiro, has said Bangladesh is a key player in maintaining security in the Bay of Bengal and active partner in regional counterterrorism efforts.
Shapiro, who led a 10-member US delegation to the April 19 Dialogue on Bangladesh-US Security Issues in Dhaka, made the observation in Washington, DC on April 24.
“Our cooperation with Bangladesh is a prime example of how US security assistance can play a critically important role in our diplomatic engagement”, he said.
Indeed, over the past decade, he said, the bilateral defence relationship between the United States and Bangladesh had become a most robust one in South Asia.
Shapiro said Bangladesh was working through a military modernisation plan, which included looking to partners for affordable defence systems.
“This modernisation effort provides an opportunity for us to expand our security cooperation, especially through our Excess Defence Articles programme, which makes US equipment that is surplus to our requirements available to our partners”.
The US security assistance to Bangladesh also demonstrates the tremendous impact these programmes could have in supporting states trying to build their security capacity, he said.
“Our assistance is helping states like Bangladesh better control their borders and their coastlines. Our assistance is helping Bangladesh better deal with natural disasters and trans-national threats”.
In short, “our security assistance is playing a critically important role for the people of Bangladesh and for the national security of the United States”, he added.
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