The USA has upped the ante against the Yunus regime, echoing India’s concerns on the law-and-order situation and rising extremism in Bangladesh under the Muhammad Yunus regime.
“Fortunately, we have an administration and a secretary of state who is completely committed to diplomatic resolutions, to face-to-face conversations with our friends around the world,” a US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Monday in reply to a question on Bangladesh army chief’s warning of an imminent extremist attack on Bangladesh as well as unlawful imprisonment of journalists under the Yunus regime.
“We expect every country, certainly Bangladesh and others, to say the least, to follow the rules of human rights and to be cognizant and fair regarding the behaviour and what their own citizens expect from their government. So, I think that’s a north star for any nation,” she said.
Last week, US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had expressed her concerns over attacks on minorities in Bangladesh and is understood to have had detailed conversations with Indian officials on the Bangladesh situation.
Foreign minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the government is working on various mechanisms to draw the attention of Bangladeshi authorities on the issue of atrocities on minorities.
Interestingly, The US state department comments came ahead of Yunus’ proposed visit to China from Wednesday. Dhaka expects to sign a deal with Beijing during his visit, under which Bangladesh will receive a grant of $138 million for projects selected jointly by both countries, including the construction of a world-class hospital. Part of the Chinese grant may also be used for establishing a tertiary institution in Bangladesh.
China had pledged the grant during former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Beijing last July.
Yunus will attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, Hainan Province, and hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Boosting economic relations with China will be a central focus of this visit, sources in Dhaka said.
“The chief adviser is set to engage in talks with Xi Jinping on various topics, including the establishment of a Chinese Economic Zone in Anwara upazila of Chattogram, the initiation of negotiations for a Bangladesh-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and the signing of a Bangladesh-China Investment Treaty,” according to a report published in the Bangladesh Business Standard.
Ahead of the chief adviser's visit, China has sent Bangladesh a draft for a revised bilateral investment agreement, according to the report. Beijing may also propose to begin negotiations for the Bangladesh-China FTA.
However, China may not be forthcoming at this stage with major loans or grants, given headwinds faced by the Bangladesh government.
“Fortunately, we have an administration and a secretary of state who is completely committed to diplomatic resolutions, to face-to-face conversations with our friends around the world,” a US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Monday in reply to a question on Bangladesh army chief’s warning of an imminent extremist attack on Bangladesh as well as unlawful imprisonment of journalists under the Yunus regime.
“We expect every country, certainly Bangladesh and others, to say the least, to follow the rules of human rights and to be cognizant and fair regarding the behaviour and what their own citizens expect from their government. So, I think that’s a north star for any nation,” she said.
Last week, US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had expressed her concerns over attacks on minorities in Bangladesh and is understood to have had detailed conversations with Indian officials on the Bangladesh situation.
Foreign minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the government is working on various mechanisms to draw the attention of Bangladeshi authorities on the issue of atrocities on minorities.
Interestingly, The US state department comments came ahead of Yunus’ proposed visit to China from Wednesday. Dhaka expects to sign a deal with Beijing during his visit, under which Bangladesh will receive a grant of $138 million for projects selected jointly by both countries, including the construction of a world-class hospital. Part of the Chinese grant may also be used for establishing a tertiary institution in Bangladesh.
China had pledged the grant during former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Beijing last July.
Yunus will attend the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in Boao, Hainan Province, and hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Boosting economic relations with China will be a central focus of this visit, sources in Dhaka said.
“The chief adviser is set to engage in talks with Xi Jinping on various topics, including the establishment of a Chinese Economic Zone in Anwara upazila of Chattogram, the initiation of negotiations for a Bangladesh-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and the signing of a Bangladesh-China Investment Treaty,” according to a report published in the Bangladesh Business Standard.
Ahead of the chief adviser's visit, China has sent Bangladesh a draft for a revised bilateral investment agreement, according to the report. Beijing may also propose to begin negotiations for the Bangladesh-China FTA.
However, China may not be forthcoming at this stage with major loans or grants, given headwinds faced by the Bangladesh government.
