US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at a news conference in Sharm el-Sheikh March 14, 2015, after attending the Egypt Economic Development Conference the previous day. Photo: Reuters
United States has appreciated the role of Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies in countering terrorism in the country, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali claimed today at the weekly cabinet meeting.
Ali informed the cabinet that Secretary of State John Kerry made the appreciation during his February 17-19 US visit.
Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan briefed reporters after the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The cabinet secretary said Ali, during his US visit, informed Kerry at a meeting that terrorist activities in the name of political programmes in Bangladesh have come down due to coordinated efforts by the law enforcement agencies.
“John Kerry said that the role and activities of our law enforcement agencies deserve praise for tackling the terrorism,” Bhuiyan quoted the minister as saying at today’s meeting.
Mosharraf said the US informed the foreign minister that the country is always concerned about terrorism and does not support terrorist activities in the name of politics. Ali informed that the US has assured to provide any assistance to combat terrorism, the cabinet secretary added.
Both Kerry and Ali have agreed that there is no place of terrorism and extremism in democracy. Kerry also told him that US does not support terrorism as part of its political strategy, added Musharraf.
The US secretary of the state also assured Ali of providing his government’s assistance in handing over the convicted killer of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to Bangladesh.
The minister also informed the cabinet that US President Barak Obama himself wants Kerry to visit Bangladesh immediately, Musharraf said, adding that the cabinet thinks Ali’s US visit was successful.
The cabinet today approved the draft of ‘The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Act-2015’ subject to the vetting of the law ministry to make the existing ordinance more time-befitting.
Musharraf said the fund that would be received from the IFC as assistance would be deposited to the consolidated fund of the government while any kind of subscription or payment to the IFC would be made from it and Bangladesh Bank would be the custodian of all assets of IFC in Bangladesh.
The cabinet also approved in principle the ‘Bangladesh Rural Development Board Act-2015.
Source: The Daily Star
