US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Bangladesh on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on tackling local Islamist extremists following a wave of deadly attacks.
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Kerry, after holding talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and his Bangladeshi counterpart A H Mahmood Ali, said there was “no argument about it (the links)”. Kerry confirmed on his Twitter account that during the meetings were addressed security issues. The most recent killed 20 people, including 17 foreigners, at a popular restaurant last month in Dhaka, the capital. The official said Kerry would speak to Bangladeshi leaders to see what more the USA can do to bolster that relationship.
“We look forward to growing and working together for peace and prosperity”, said Kerry.
“So I’m confident that our assistance to Bangladesh will increasingly be created to help the government address terrorism threats from domestic and trans-national organisations”, Kerry said.
Sheikh Hasina also said that she had already arranged video conferences with the cross section of people of the 64 districts of the country to mobilize public opinion against terrorism and militancy.
Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said he had a candid discussion with his United States counterpart on issues related to all bilateral issues, including security matters.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the July 1 attack on the upscale cafe in Dhaka in which 22 people were killed and pictures of the attackers holding ISIS flags were posted online.
Responding to questions after giving a speech, Kerry said he had a “very candid” conversation with Hasina. He will also visit a garment factory and Bangabandhu National Museum. Instead it says the extremism is largely homegrown and has been fomented by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
US Secretary of state John Kerry’s short visit, only the second by a US Secretary of State to Bangladesh in four years, we believe, has taken our bilateral relationship one step further.
A special U.S. aircraft carrying Kerry along with members of his entourage arrived here from Geneva while his counterpart received him at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s VVIP terminal meant for heads of governments and states.
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According to Associated Press, during his visit, Kerry plans to discuss counterterrorism cooperation along with human rights and development with officials.
