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Sunday, June 26, 2016, Ashar 12, 1423 BS, Ramadan 20, 1437 Hijri


Partnership Dialogue
US, BD pledge to bolster security ties
Diplomatic Correspondent
Published :Sunday, 26 June, 2016,  Time : 12:00 AM  View Count : 73

The fifth annual US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue ended on Friday with promise of strengthening the areas of bilateral cooperation and working together on issues of regional and global
interest.
US Under Secretary Tom Shanon and Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque led their respective sides at the two-day dialogue in Washington where a whole range of bilateral issues were discussed, with security issues getting priority.
Addressing the fifth annual 'partnership dialogue' that ended on Friday Shannon said that Washington is "proud" of its partnership with Bangladesh. Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque said that over the years the bilateral ties have "matured from aid-dependency to a strategic one," said a press release issued by Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC on Saturday.
The embassy said noting Bangladesh's "remarkable" achievements in socio-economic front, Shannon highlighted that the US was "proud of its partnership with Bangladesh and looking forward to deeper engagements in the days to come."
They also discussed the issues related to various regional and sub-regional arrangements including SAARC, BCIM, BIMSTEC, ASEM and IPEC.
They also "revisited Bangladesh's leadership role in promoting regional cooperation and integration and discussed the possibilities that are lying ahead."
They discussed a range of bilateral issues including migration, climate change, disaster management, health, higher education, agricultural cooperation, diaspora, regional cooperation, blue economy, peacekeeping and peace building, counterterrorism and higher education, it said.
The Bangladesh Foreign Secretary underscored the government's vision and strategy to become a middle income country by 2021 with the "intrinsic values of democracy, secularism and pluralism".
The US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue, established in 2012, is a regularly "planned policy consultation" designed to advance the common agenda and opportunities for cooperation across the full range of bilateral and regional issues.
The three working groups focused on cooperation in the areas of development and governance, trade and investment and security affairs.
In the plenary session on Friday, the progress of the working group discussions was reviewed by the co-chairs.
On the sidelines of the partnership dialogue, the Foreign Secretary met with senior US officials including Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal.
He also met with Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Anne Richard, Assistant Secretary of State for international Organizations Bathsheba Crocker, and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski.
Haque also met with Dr Peter Lavoy, Special Assistant to President Obama and Jonathan Finer, Chief of Staff of the Secretary of State.
The sideline meetings held in a friendly and congenial atmosphere also discussed issues of mutual interests in bilateral and regional setup and beyond, the release said.










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