Divided Politics: The urge of analysts in assessing US Relations
Photo: Barta24.com
US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday on a two-day visit. After the Awami League-led government returned to power last January, Donald Lu's visit is gaining importance in the country's political environment after the visit of a delegation led by Eileen Laubacher, the special assistant to the President of the United States. The leaders of the two main parties of the country, Awami League and BNP, have already started throwing conflicting words around this visit of Lu.
However, analysts commented that Donald Lu's visit should not be evaluated in terms of internal political dichotomy in Bangladesh. They say that the United States has relations with Bangladesh in various fields including trade. In addition to this, the United States is also an important partner of various international organizations. Therefore, Bangladesh should focus on expanding this existing relationship in a positive way.
Former foreign advisor, educationist and diplomat ambassador Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told Barta24.com about Donald Lu's visit, "This is Donald Lu's official level routine visit after the new government came." I think this visit is a part of working with the new government. It is very significant in the sense that this is the first visit by a key US official since the new government came to power.
What he will say may be known after this visit, so without prejudging what is apparently understood, Lu's visit is part of Bangladesh's new study. They will definitely work to develop bilateral relations with Bangladesh. Hope, both the countries will push towards further expansion of relations positively. It should not be evaluated in terms of our internal political dichotomy' - added this former career diplomat.
Abul Momen, a distinguished journalist, writer and educationist who won the Ekushey Medal, said, "It is the job of politicians to give opinions and comments on various issues." Here some can give maturely, some cannot. As America is also an important partner of several international organizations, Bangladesh is also receiving help from those organizations; therefore, it must be admitted that Bangladesh-US relations are much more extended than the usual bilateral relations. Politicians should do their political practice by considering the overall situation and perspective.
In this context, he further said, 'They (the United States) have a kind of visible agenda, such as democracy, human rights, rule of law, etc. It is also their custom to apply pressure on these issues. Continuing the relationship is also their characteristic. Donald Lu has arrived perhaps to continue that pressure. That does not mean that their ongoing relationship with Bangladesh will have any impact.
Abul Momen said, 'If you think about the geo-political context, it is seen that the two influential countries in Bangladesh have a close relationship with India and China at the same time. America is also a third power - in that sense it's a kind of countervailing advantage.'
"Bangladesh has no choice now - it has to continue with relations with everyone. If Bangladesh was a small country like Maldives, it might have thought of entering into relations with China. But Bangladesh is a big country in terms of population. Political aspirations are also multifaceted. As a result, it is not possible for Bangladesh to take a stand like Maldives' - said this influential columnist and analyst.
It should be noted that Donald Lu will hold a bilateral meeting with Foreign Secretary Masoud Bin Momen during his visit. In addition, the meeting will be held by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Hasan Mahmood, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Affairs Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury, along with Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman. During the visit, he is also expected to exchange views with the representatives of the political and civil society of Bangladesh.
