Bangladesh and the US are set to hold a crucial dialogue in Dhaka tomorrow, the first of a series of bilateral meetings in the coming weeks, which will help determine the next course of relationship as the two nations celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relationship.
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and US Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will lead the respective sides at the eighth Partnership Dialogue, a platform that began in 2012 for discussing all aspects of bilateral relations.
The first in-person dialogue between Dhaka and Washington since the Covid-19 began late 2019 takes place at a time when the bilateral relations experienced tensions after the US sanctioned RAB and some of its officials and dropped Bangladesh from the list of invitees to the Democracy Summit late last year.
After this dialogue, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen will hold a bilateral meeting in Washington on April 4, marking the 50th year of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
The two countries will also hold a Security Dialogue in Washington on April 6, US-Bangladesh Business Council meeting in Dhaka on May 11 and Defence Dialogue on May 14 in Hawaii.
Bangladesh and US officials said while specific details will be discussed in these three dialogues, the Partnership Dialogue will cover all the aspects of relationship including trade, labour, investment, human rights, governance, global and regional issues including climate change, Indo-Pacific and security cooperation.
“In the dialogue, we will discuss opportunities to expand a robust relationship, ways we can further enhance close ties on a range of areas of cooperation,” a US embassy official in Dhaka said at a media briefing at the American Centre on March 15.
Dhaka’s Priorities
Foreign ministry officials said Bangladesh’s priority at this moment is withdrawal of US sanctions on RAB and seven of its current and former officials imposed by the US on December 10 last year for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
In late December, Foreign Minister Momen wrote a letter to Blinken requesting to withdraw the sanction, which is considered an image issue of Bangladesh domestically and internationally.
Bangladesh will also demand reinstating the GSP facility that the US suspended in 2013 in the aftermath of Rana Plaza collapse, alleging workplace safety and labour rights issues. Since then, Bangladesh made repeated requests for reinstatement of the trade facility but to no avail.
“Another important agenda for us is funding for infrastructure development,” said a foreign ministry official.
He said the US has invested mainly in the energy sector and provided assistance in health, education and governance sectors, while China, Japan, Russia, India invested here in major infrastructure projects.
The fact that the Biden administration did not invite Bangladesh to its Democracy Summit late last year has also irked Dhaka. Also, last year, the US asked Bangladesh to send a consent in writing to the Leahy Law, which governs US security assistance it provides to the countries.
Dhaka extended time twice and is yet to give the consent. A diplomatic source said delay in sending the consent by Dhaka means complication in future security assistance.
Asked about the challenges in Dhaka-Washington relations, Bangladesh’s former ambassador to the US Tariq Karim said there are ups and downs in all relationships but that does not mean it is destroyed.
He said the US is the largest RMG export destination for Bangladesh. It is a major development partner and an investor in Bangladesh’s energy sector. Also, a lot of Bangladeshi Americans are studying and living in the US and making important contributions to the various spheres of American life.
“So, this is not only a government to government relationship but also people to people relationship. If there are issues of misunderstanding, the both parties must honestly speak and resolve,” Tariq Karim said.
Washington’s priorities
US Embassy officials said democracy, governance, human rights and labour rights are some of high priorities for the Biden administration.
At a discussion in Dhaka on March 15, US Embassy Public Affairs Counselor Sean J Mcintosh said sanctions on Rab and its officials was a message loud and clear that human rights and democracy are at the centre of Biden administration’s foreign policy.
He said one or two particular events does not mean that the bilateral relationship is clouded, and added that Washington wants to move forward the relationship for the shared values.
“When there are disagreements in a relationship, it means there is an opportunity for them to come together, resolve and go forward,” he said.
Another US official said the US provided more than 60 million Covid-19 vaccines, making Bangladesh one of the largest recipients of US vaccines under Covax. This also demonstrates the depth of the relations.
The US also wants to increase its export to Bangladesh. One of the items is cotton, but there are certain issues that the US wants solved at the soonest, a foreign ministry official said.
The US’ another major interest is keeping Bangladesh on its side when it comes to regional security, especially in the Indo-Pacific, which has become a focus of world powers. The US has an Indo-Pacific Strategy and is part of a QUAD, an informal grouping among the US, Australia, Japan and India, which speak of an international rules-based system in the maritime domain, but many see it aimed at countering China.
A US official earlier told this correspondent that maritime security in the Indo-Pacific is an important concern for them and the US wants to support Bangladesh with the equipment and technology for protecting its maritime boundary and sovereignty.
The US also wants Bangladesh to sign two defence agreements as the latter sought to buy advanced equipment from the US in 2018 as part of its goal to modernise the military by 2030.
The agreements are General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) and the Acquisition Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), which are foundational agreements meant to strengthen defence relationship between two countries. Bangladesh has yet to make any clear response to the US side.
A foreign ministry official said a recent inter-ministerial meeting discussed pros and cons of the agreements, but could not say if Dhaka decided to sign those.
Washington-based think tank Wilson Centre’s Deputy Director for South Asia Michael Kugelman said Washington is keen to strengthen economic and security ties with many of the smaller South Asian states, including Bangladesh, largely in order to wean them away from Chinese influence.
“But I imagine the US will want to be a bit cautious about expanding security ties with Dhaka until it has more assurances that efforts are being made to rein in RAB,” he told this correspondent.
