US state dept counselor to arrive Feb 14

Derek Chollet

US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet will be visiting Bangladesh on February 14-15 with a focus on the Rohingya crisis and the sustainable solutions in this regard.

Speaking at the weekly media briefing at the foreign ministry yesterday, Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said, "He is expected to discuss ways of bolstering the US-Bangladesh relations. He will see the situation of the Rohingyas on the ground."

Chollet, a senior policy advisor to the US secretary of state, is expected to call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.

Bangladesh is now sheltering more than one million Rohingya refugees. Some 750,000 of them fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine in 2017. They joined some 300,000 others who previously faced persecution.

The situation in Myanmar aggravated when the military took control of the country through a coup on February 1, 2021. Last year, the US determined the Myanmar junta's atrocities against the Rohingya as "genocide", and to date has imposed sanctions against 80 individuals and 32 entities related to the Myanmar military.

In December last year, the US Congress passed the Burma Act meant to impose severe restrictions on the the military regime, support to the pro-democracy movement and provide critical humanitarian assistance.

Kara C McDonald, US deputy assistant secretary for democracy, human rights, and labour, was scheduled to visit Dhaka on February 7-9, but the tour was postponed.

Asked for the reason, Seheli said it was not known. She, however, said the visit will take place at a later date.

Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra may visit Dhaka next week to hold Foreign Office Consultations (FOC). The last FOC was held on January 29, 2021.

The visit will take place three weeks ahead of Foreign Minister Momen's trip to New Delhi. Momen is scheduled to attend the G20 foreign minister-level meeting in the Indian capital early next month.

The G20 summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to attend the event.

"All issues of the Bangladesh-India relations will be discussed during the Foreign Office Consultations. Preparations are underway for the meeting," Seheli told reporters yesterday.

Foreign ministry officials said Bangladesh is the only non-G20 South Asian country invited to the event by India. It will be a good platform for Bangladesh to raise the issues of the developing countries, especially the challenges being faced by them due to the Ukraine-Russia war and economic slowdown.

The G20 summit will be one of the main issues on the agenda for discussion during the Indian foreign secretary's trip to Bangladesh, the officials added.

ARGENTINE FM DUE IN DHAKA

Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero will visit Dhaka on February 27-March 1. He is expected to announce the opening of his country's embassy in Bangladesh.

The minister will lead a 20-member business delegation to Bangladesh. He is expected to call on the prime minister, foreign minister, commerce minister and leaders of business chambers, said officials.

Santiago may also watch a football match and meet the leadership of Bangladesh Football Federation.