Trump’s 2 deputy assistant secretaries to arrive Wed; democratic transition, tariffs, Myanmar issues to dominate meeting
Nicole Ann Chulick, deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) of US Department of State, and Andrew R Herrup, deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, will arrive in Dhaka early Wednesday on a three-day visit.
This will be the first delegation from the US President Trump administration to visit Bangladesh.
Various issues related to the Dhaka-Washington relations including reforms and democratic transition in Bangladesh, reciprocal tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, US assistance in Rohingya crisis and situation in Myanmar will be discussed during their visit.
According to officials from the foreign ministry and Bangladesh’s mission in Washington, Nicole Chulick will arrive in Dhaka first on Wednesday and Andrew Herrup will arrive later. Susan Stevenson, US chargé d’affaires in Myanmar, is likely to join Andrew Herrup.
According to diplomatic sources, the two deputy assistant secretaries will meet the US embassy officials in Dhaka on the first day to discuss current political situation in Bangladesh.
They will then hold separate meetings with leaders of various political parties, including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, as well as representatives of civil society. The US officials will meet with foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain, National security adviser Khalilur Rahman and other senior government representatives on Thursday.
Regarding this, , foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain told Prothom Alo this would be the first high-level visit from the US since Donald Trump took office as president. As a result, various issues of the bilateral relations will be discussed. Relevantly, the issue of reciprocal tariffs imposed by Donald Trump might arise during discussions, he added.
Diplomatic sources said Nicole Chulick will focus on discussions with high-level interim government representatives on reform processes, especially on the US assistance to Bangladesh in its democratic transition. She might exchange views with leaders of various political parties including BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, as well as representatives of civil society.
On the other hand, Andrew Herrup’s visit will emphasise the Myanmar and Rohingya situations. The Myanmar junta has no control over the country except for a few areas. Myanmar has become a hub for drug trafficking, illegal arms trade, abductions of foreign nationals, and human trafficking, including women and children, along with the persisting Rohingya issue.