State Dept: Donald Lu to focus on strengthening US-Bangladesh ties

Washington's point person for South Asia, Donald Lu, was set to arrive in Dhaka on Tuesday on a two-day visit to strengthen US-Bangladesh relations.

 

This will be his third visit in 17 months but first since the January 7 general election which the US criticized.

Lu, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, would meet with government officials, civil society leaders and other Bangladeshis to talk about deepening US-Bangladeshi cooperation, including economic ties, in ways that “we can collaborate further to address climate issues,” Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the US State Department, said while replying to a question.

He will not meet with any political parties.

Asked whether the US had shifted its position on internal political matters, the spokesperson said: "It has not."

"A lot of factors go into who our government officials meet with or not – the schedule, time of day, lots of other things. Assistant Secretary Lu is on a swing through a number of South Asian countries – specifically India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He is there to strengthen bilateral cooperation with each country and to demonstrate US support for a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," he said.

With Bangladesh, Lu will conclude his tri-nation tour of the South Asian region on Wednesday. Earlier, he visited India and on Monday he was in Sri Lanka.