Momen-Blinken talk today

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet today, marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between the two countries.

The meeting, scheduled at Blinken's office in Washington at 1:00pm Washington time (11:00pm Dhaka time), will entail all aspects of bilateral relationship and discuss how the countries will take forward the relationship in the next 50 years.

The historic meeting at the invitation of Blinken comes at a time when the bilateral relations witnessed some strains following the US sanctions on Rab and seven of its current and past officials for human rights violations.

Dhaka was also frustrated when the Biden administration did not invite Bangladesh to the Democracy Summit late last year.

It also comes two weeks after the US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue between US Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen in Dhaka on March 20.

On April 6, Masud Bin Momen will also hold security dialogue in Washington. The two countries will also hold US-Bangladesh Business Council meeting in Dhaka on May 11 and Defence Dialogue on May 14 in Hawaii.

"We are a democratic country and value human rights. We shared these values with the US. Rab has many achievements in combating crimes, especially militancy. So, we would request them to withdraw the sanction," Momen told reporters last Friday, a day before he left for Washington.