The visiting US delegation led by deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Nicole Ann Chulick on Thursday enquired about the Bangladesh interim government鈥檚 views about the Rohingya crisis and its solutions and discussed issues relating to national elections, US 鈥榬eciprocal鈥� tariffs and reforms.
Chulick accompanied by deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Andrew R Herrup and US charg茅 d鈥檃ffaires in Myanmar Susan Stevenson held separate meetings with national security adviser and chief adviser鈥檚 high representative for the Rohingya issue and priority matters Khalilur Rahman and foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain at their respective offices in the capital Dhaka.
鈥楾he United States鈥� delegation in separate meetings with the national security adviser and chief adviser鈥檚 high representative and the foreign adviser discussed next elections, Rohingya crisis and reforms initiated聽 by the interim government,鈥� foreign secretary Md Jashim Uddin said at a press briefing at his office in the capital.
He said that the US team wanted to know about the Bangladesh government鈥檚 views about the protracted Rohingya crisis and possible solutions to the crisis in particular and discussed issues related to the US tariff and bilateral trade.
鈥榃e have informed them about the measures taken to reduce trade gap between the two countries,鈥� the secretary said.
He said that Bangladesh wanted return of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to their homeland Myanmar for a sustainable solution to the long-standing crisis as more than 1.2 lakh displaced people were sheltered here and not a single of them could be sent back since the 2017 exodus amid a military crackdown on them in the Rakhine state.
Chulick arrived in Dhaka on April 15 on a four-day tour.
The US team on Wednesday in separate meetings with leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party discussed next national elections and reform issues at the US charg茅 d鈥檃ffaires Tracey Ann Jacobson鈥檚 residence at Gulshan in the capital.
This is the first delegation from the administration of the newly elected US president, Donald Trump, to visit Bangladesh.
The US deputy assistant secretaries are scheduled to depart Dhaka today.
Bangladesh, which had appealed for a pause in the 鈥榬eciprocal鈥� tariffs slapped recently by the Trump administration, has already welcomed the US decision for a 90-day suspension of the tariffs for most countries.
On April 9, Trump declared a complete halt on all 鈥榬eciprocal鈥� tariffs with immediate effect with the exception of those imposed on China, Canada and Mexico.
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that he had 鈥榓uthorised a 90-day pause, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately.鈥�
Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on April 7 sent a letter to Trump, requesting a three-month postponement of the proposed tariff measures on Bangladeshi exports to the US, the single largest destination of Bangladesh鈥檚 readymade garment exports.
The move came after Trump announced steep 37 per cent tariff on April 2, triggering an alarm in Dhaka over its potential impact on export earnings and jobs in key sectors like readymade garments and textiles.
