During his meeting with top leaders Kerry discussed important security issues.
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attends a news conference after a meeting on Syria with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, Switzerland, August 26, 2016. He may also meet opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
After his brief stop in Bangladesh, Kerry traveled to India for the seventh meeting of the U.S. -India strategic dialogue, which seeks to improve security and well as economic and development ties between the nations.
Kerry said he does not believe “the government of Bangladesh has its head in the sand”. Victims of the attacks by suspected Islamists have included secular bloggers, gay rights activists and followers of minority religions including Hindus, Christians and Muslim Sufis and Shiites.
But the one-day trip is expected to focus on mounting concerns of Islamist violence in the impoverished nation, after gunmen last month attacked an upscale cafe in Dhaka and killed 22 people, mainly foreigners. The gruesome attack has prompted foreigners, including potential investors, to leave Bangladesh – sparking worries for its garment industry, the world’s second largest after China. “We are now living in a very hard and complicated time”.
The current S& CD would be reviewing the progress made so far in strengthening the agreed upon issues and lay down the road map for the ensuing year, under the two tracks, the Union ministry said.
Critics say Hasina’s administration has been in denial about the nature of the threat posed by extremists and accuse her of trying to exploit the attacks to demonise her domestic opponents. But today, Bangladesh is growing in the vision of Bangabandhu – and under the strong leadership of his daughter (Sheikh Hasina).
He said United States work very closely with Bangladesh and other partners to defeat vicious terrorist networks, particularly those of Daesh (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and al-Qaeda.
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Kerry landed at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and was greeted by Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.
