On a brief stop in Dhaka before a two-day visit to New Delhi, Kerry met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Abdul Hassam Mahmood Ali, opposition officials and students.
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Kerry will also meet with BNP leader Khaleda Zia, whose party boycotted parliamentary elections in 2014.
Security forces stormed a militant hideout outside Dhaka on Saturday, killing three suspected militants including the Bangladesh-born Canadian accused of organising last month’s attack that killed 22 people, mostly foreigners.
Kerry said he has had “important discussions on security issues” in Dhaka during his maiden day-long tour.
After talks on Syria with Russian and United Nations officials, Kerry planned to depart Geneva later Sunday for meetings with Bangladeshi officials, opposition and civic leaders who are coping with a series of extremist attacks.
A Reuters report said the Secretary of State will also be discussing growing U.S. -Bangladesh cooperation on global issues, as well security matters.
The issue of India’s membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group will likely to dominate the Indo-US Strategic Dialogue which will be held in Delhi on Tuesday.
Hasina’s government has launched a major crackdown on Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party which it accuses of orchestrating a wave of deadly street violence previous year in a bid to force the premier to resign.
He observed in the comment book at the memorial that Bangladesh is moving ahead in line with the vision of Bangabandhu under Hasina’s strong leadership, reported the Dhaka Tribune.
“What a tragedy to have such brilliant and courageous leadership taken away from the people of Bangladesh in such a moment of violence and cowardice”.
When the prime minister asked him about the source of funds and arms of the IS, Kerry said the militant group raises revenue by selling oil from the part of Iraq and Syria under their control, according to Karim. “We want to help”, he said.
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Kerry made his first trip to Bangladesh as America’s top diplomat amid increasing concern about terrorism in the South Asian nation after of a series of militant attacks. The group has claimed responsibility for several other incidents in Bangladesh. “So we are working with local partners to make Bangladesh resilient against all odds”, Kerry said in a 35-minute speech.
