‘No pressure’ behind US aircraft purchases, says Humaiun Kobir

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir said Bangladesh is buying aircrafts from the United States in response to the needs of the aviation sector.

The state minister made the remarks while answering journalists’ questions at the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.

Asked whether Bangladesh was purchasing aircraft from the United States under pressure or as a continuation of an agreement signed by the interim government, the foreign affairs state minister said, “No, not because of any pressure.”

He said the aircraft were being purchased due to the needs of the aviation sector.

Bangladesh needs to increase the capacity of its aircraft fleet, the state minister said. Otherwise, it would not be possible to open new routes and the country would lose business, he said.

He added that Bangladesh would have to purchase aircraft over the long term if it wanted to increase revenue and passenger numbers as an aviation hub.

Asked whether there was a specific timeline for purchasing the aircraft or whether discussions were still at an initial stage, the state minister said Bangladesh had very good relations with Washington and also maintained good relations with Beijing. He said the government was maintaining an excellent balance in its foreign relations.

The state minister said that among Bangladesh’s bilateral partners, the United States is one of its major development partners. Therefore, Bangladesh would further expand trade and investment with the country. He said more aircraft would be purchased as needed.

The state minister said Bangladesh would need 70 to 80 aircraft, or even more, over the next 10 to 15 years.

He said a policy-level decision had been taken to purchase Boeing aircraft based on the country’s needs.

Bangladesh has agreed to buy more Boeing aircraft from the United States as part of a new agreement. Sergio Gor, the US special envoy for South and Central Asian affairs and ambassador to India, announced this in a post on X on Sunday night.

Sergio Gor also said that US President Donald Trump and Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman have reached an ‘incredible deal’ this week over the purchase of Boeing aircraft. However, Sergio Gor did not mention in his post how many new aircraft Bangladesh plans to purchase from aircraft manufacturer Boeing.