US ambassador Marcia Bernicat. –UNB file photo

US ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat on Tuesday said she expects to see a dramatically different country — more advanced and developed one — when she will come to visit Bangladesh after her tenure here.
‘While I’ll be sad to leave Bangladesh, I already know I’ll return. When I’ll come back to visit, I expect to see a dramatically different country,’ she said while delivering her speech at the US Independence Day reception.
Foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali attended the programme as the chief guest. Planetary scientist and flight controller Tess Caswell was also present.
Americans all over the world will celebrate this holiday with families and friends on Wednesday-July 4.
This is Bernicat’s last Independence Day celebration as the US ambassador to Bangladesh.
She said they need to support ‘non-violent, free, fair, and credible elections’ that reflect the will of people.
‘So as I conclude my time here in Bangladesh, I ask the government of Bangladesh and the people of Bangladesh for the same thing I ask of my own government and my own people,’ ambassador Bernicat said.
The US envoy said the wisdom and determination of Bangladeshi people created an independent, secular, and democratic nation, and 47 years later the same wisdom and determination launched the Bangabandhu Satellite into the space.
‘I believe the same wisdom and determination will fulfill the dream of a Sonar Bangla for future generations,’ she added.
This year the world watched as Bangladesh, with the support of NASA and SpaceX, launched Bangabandhu-1, opening a new chapter in Bangladesh’s rapid acceleration towards becoming a middle-income country.
‘The Bangabandhu-1 Satellite is a true testament to the remarkable will and innovation of the Bangladeshi people,’ Bernicat said.
Bernicat said the 4th of July is evidence that a grand experiment-an experiment in self-governance, in democracy, in the unwavering pursuit of liberty-can shape the world.
‘That experiment is alive well today as we continue to do what our founders declared to form a more perfect union,’ she added.