Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali, MP on Friday met the U.S. Secretary of State John F Kerry at the U.S. Department of State and discussed on a range of Bangladesh-U.S. bilateral relations.
They expressed their satisfaction at the current level of cooperation and acknowledged that the bilateral relation is expanding from strength to strength, a foreign ministry statement said in Dhaka.
John Kerry applauded Bangladesh for its huge success in the socio-economic fields and said that the U.S. would be happy to continue expanding its cooperation with Bangladesh.
The two leaders agreed that violence has no space in a democracy, and condemned the mindless violence and extremism in the name of ideology or political expression.
They agreed to work together on a number of global issues, inter alia, climate change, countering violent extremism, terrorism, peacekeeping, human security, disaster preparedness etc. John Kerry expressed deep interest to work with Bangladesh in fighting climate change.
Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali requested John Kerry to expedite repatriation of Rashed Chowdhury, one of the convicted killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is reportedly hiding in USA.
When Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali invited his counterpart to visit Bangladesh, John Kerry responded very positively and said that he would love to take the visit at the earliest opportunity.
Foreign Minister was accompanied by Bangladesh Ambassador to USA M Ziauddin, Foreign Secretary Md. Shahidul Haque and Director General (Americas) Mahfuzur Rahman. US Assistant Secretary of State for South & Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal assisted the Secretary of State.
Earlier on the day, Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali attended the Ministerial Segment of the White House Countering Violent Extremism Summit, which was addressed by US President Barack Obama.
He reiterated that Bangladesh denounces terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, and expressed determination that the people of Bangladesh is determined to restore and strengthen the secular and inclusive social fabric of the country, the centuries old Bengali ethos and culture to allow for extraordinary social tolerance, peace, social harmony and religious freedom.
He mentioned that the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, time and again, vowed that Bangladesh would never tolerate and patronize terrorist activities and resist every attempt to use its soil by terrorist groups against other friendly countries.
He said that women’s social mobility in Bangladesh has been critical for the religious extremist agenda to feel weakened at one of its fundamental pursuits.
He applauded the role of Bangladesh media and said that the media has been the strongest ally in projecting a robust counter narrative in the backdrop of terrorist threats from home and abroad.