On the heels of the country’s fight against Covid-19 with a fragile healthcare system, Bangladesh has requested the United States to invest in the health sector. In a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen also requested Washington to provide duty free quota free privilege for the next two years. Workers in the RMG sector, a majority of whom are women, are facing an uncertain future as buyers, including from the US, have cancelled purchasing orders, he mentioned. Mentioning that Bangladesh wants diversity in terms of investment, the foreign minister asked the US to invest in the economic zones of the country. Investing in Bangladesh will be profitable for the US due to the availability of the high-tech parks, skilled manpower in information technology and large number of labourers, he observed. Secretary Pompeo mentioned that the US has allocated $43 million for Bangladesh to face the Covid-19 pandemic and praised the efforts of Dhaka in fighting the coronavirus. Dr Momen requested his counterpart to play a firmer role in the repatriation of the forcibly-displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar, which is wasting time in implementing the agreement with respect to the return of the persecuted people. He also expressed concern over the recent military campaign by Myanmar in Rakhine province. Pompeo lauded Bangladesh for its improvement as regards to combat trafficking-in-person. The foreign minister asked his US counterpart to return convicted Bangabandhu killer Rashed Chowdhury to face justice. He also said the coronavirus pandemic has landed the whole world in uncertainty and that partnership among all countries is necessary to face it. During the conversation, both the minister and secretary placed emphasis on the enhancement of the Dhaka-Washington relationship.
