US Secretary of State John Kerry is coming to Dhaka on Aug 29 on a brief visit
He will leave for New Delhi on the same day, said the foreign ministry official who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue.
This will be Kerry’s first visit to Bangladesh which will come amid the US security concerns in Dhaka following the July 1 terrorist carnage in which 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, were killed.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali last year invited him to visit Dhaka and later told bdnews24.com that Kerry would be coming “soon”.
However, the foreign ministry official said the imminent visit was a sudden development and that the US Ambassador Marcia Bernicat’s meetings with the foreign ministry in the last weeks dominated the issue.
During his brief visit, Kerry will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Mahmood Ali.
He will also meet the members of the civil society.
After the July 1 attack, Kerry had phoned Hasina and sent the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Nisha Desai Biswal to express Washington’s solidarity with Bangladesh.
Biswal, during her visit, offered the US expertise to build Bangladesh’s capabilities in countering terrorism.
The government said it would take cooperation from all “friendly” countries to root out terrorism and extremism.
Source: bdnews24