Bangladesh and the US are going to have a series of engagements this month that are expected to boost political, trade and security relations between Dhaka and Washington. The fourth Security Dialogue between Bangladesh and US will be held on September 11 in Washington, D.C. to discuss issues related to strategic priorities, regional issues, military-military engagement and security assistance issues. Then, a US team led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South Asia, Michael J Delaney, will arrive in Dhaka on September 19 to discuss trade issues with particular reference to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) with all the stakeholders. Foreign secretary Shahidul Haque will undertake an official tour of the US from September 21 to 22 to discuss the entire range of issues of mutual interest between the two countries. “I will meet all the interlocutors in Washington. Both the countries enjoy a very good relationship and there is an effort to take it to a new height,” the foreign secretary told The Independent yesterday.In Washington, Haque will hold meetings with his US counterpart. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, Nisha Biswal, senior officials of the USTR, Department of Labour as well as Department of Commerce, according to foreign ministry officials. He will also meet representatives of the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO), the umbrella federation of 56 US unions, representing 12.5 million workers. In June 2013, US President Barack Obama had suspended GSP benefits for Bangladeshi products, on the basis of a petition filed by the AFL-CIO in 2007. According to the officials, the foreign secretary will discuss all aspects of bilateral ties, including the political relationship between the two countries and the issue of repatriation of Bangabandhu’s killers. Describing the Dhaka-Washington relationship as one of the most important for Bangladesh, foreign ministry officials hoped that the visit would enhance the ties between the two nations. The officials said the foreign secretary will also convey to officials of the USTR and Departments of Labour and Commerce that significant progress has been made on labour reforms in Bangladesh, and GSP should be reinstated without delay. On the meeting between Haque and AFL-CIO officials, they said Haque will apprise them of the progress made on the ground with regard to the safety and rights of the workers in Bangladesh. “AFL-CIO is a very influential organisation in the US. During the last review, Bangladesh nearly got GSP reinstated. However, Bangladesh could not make it, due to the objection by the AFL-CIO,” said an official. About the upcoming visit of the US team led by Delaney, the officials said various trade issues will be discussed, but understandably the GSP issue would be highlighted. The US team will meet the respective secretaries of the foreign affairs, commerce and labour ministries at the state guest house Padma to discuss all pending trade issues, including GSP. The visitors will also make field visits to factories to inspect the working conditions there. The officials said the US particularly wanted further progress in areas of unfair labour practices and implementation of labour laws. On the foreign secretary’s visit to Washington and the US team’s visit to Dhaka, they said that there were positive indications regarding the reinstatement of GSP for Bangladesh. The officials further said security and non-security issues would be discussed during the Security Dialogue. The two teams will take stock of all issues, they added. Both sides are expected to discuss their relationship with India, Afghanistan, Myanmar and the Indian Ocean region under the regional issue agenda, said the officials. Under the military-military engagement agenda, they said that officials of both countries will discuss potential cooperation in intelligence sharing, surveillance and reconnaissance and civil-military ties. Defence trade, excess defence articles programme, and military education and training are also to be discussed, they added. Regional counter-terrorism cooperation and countering violent extremism are also in the agenda, as in the previous three dialogues.
