Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (TICFA) between Bangladesh and the US is on the final stage, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said, insisting she 'neither denies nor confirms' whether the pact would be inked during Secretary Hilary Clinton's visit to Bangladesh on Saturday.
"TCFA is on final stage and it would be signed soon. But I neither confirm nor rule out whether the much expected agreement would be signed during Secretary Clinton's visit to Dhaka," she told reporters at his ministry in the capital Dhaka on Thursday.
US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton will pay a short visit to Dhaka on May 5 and is scheduled to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues that include trade and investment, security, counter terrorism, duty-free market access, millennium challenge corporation fund and extradition of a Bangabandhu killer from the US.
Dipu Moni, however, said Dhaka and Washington DC are expected to sign a joint declaration called 'Partnership Dialogue' that would be the guiding document for broader cooperation and partnership between Bangladesh and the US.
The planned `Partnership Dialogue' will have two tiers -- the first tier will be headed by the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary and the US Under Secretary of State who will meet annually. This will function as the foreign secretary level consultations, a mechanism that Bangladesh has with different countries.
The second political-level tier will be headed by the Bangladesh Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State and would ensure a common platform that would ensure regular meeting of two sides sometime in each year.
The foreign minister, who met Clinton in Washington in last October, said Bangladesh would seek duty-free and quota-free access for its products to the US market. Dhaka will also seek access to funds from the US Millennium Challenge Cooperation (MMC) headed by Clinton.
The other areas where Bangladesh might seek cooperation the US are: assistance to combat adverse impact of the climate change in Bangladesh, repatriation of Bangabandhu's convicted killer Maj (retd) Rashed Chowdhury who is hiding in America, as well as regional and international issues of common concerns.
She said the relationship between Bangladesh and the US has reached to a 'matured' level and Secretary Clinton spoke positive worldwide about Bangladesh as the First Lady and the Secretary of State.
The visit of Clinton would further deepen the bilateral relations through the visit of Secretary Clinton, who first came in Dhaka in 1995 with her daughter, Chelsea. Her husband and former US president Bill Clinton visited Dhaka in 2000.
BBN/SSR/AD-03May12-11:40 pm (BST)
