The government is ready to face any questions related to the city corporation elections in the Bangladesh-US Partnership Dialogue.
“We will not raise the city corporation election issue but if the US side does it, we are prepared,” said a senior official of the foreign ministry.
Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque will lead the Bangladesh side in the two-day fourth partnership dialogue, while US State Department Under-Secretary Wendy Sherman will represent her country.
“Our probable response will be that the election is over and the result was announced, and if there is any irregularity or complaint, it would be looked into by the Election Commission,” he said.
The US Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday after the election issued a statement saying it was disappointed by the widespread, first-hand, and credible reports of vote-rigging, intimidation and violence that occurred at polling stations, and the BNP’s decision to boycott the city corporation polls.
After the January 5 national election held in 2014, the Foreign Ministry briefed the foreign diplomats about the rationality of holding the election.
Meanwhile, the foreign secretary told the Dhaka Tribune that Bangladesh will emphasise trade and investment in the dialogue.
Development and governance, trade and investment, and security cooperation are the three broad areas on which the discussion will focus.
“Bangladesh will raise the duty-free quota-free and GSP issues with the US side,” he said.
Increased US investment in Bangladesh and boosting of Bangladesh exports to the US market will also be discussed, he added.
The US is the single biggest export destination of Bangladeshi products, with an annual export of about $6bn.
Another Foreign Ministry official said Bangladesh might seek US help to resolve the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.
“We are facing problems due to an influx of Rohingyas into Bangladesh and it must be stopped. We need US help to resolve it,” he said.
About three to five lakh undocumented Rohingyas are living in Bangladesh, creating serious security, environment and social problems. Wendy Sherman and State Department Assistant Secretary Nisha Desai Biswal will arrive in Dhaka today and are scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali.
The dialogue is the premier forum for further expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation on the full range of bilateral and regional activities.
The working session of the dialogue will be held today at the official level, while the plenary session will be held tomorrow at the secretary level.
In the working session, investment climate, energy, labour and terrorism issues will dominate, said officials.
In the last partnership dialogue held in Washington in October last year, both the parties discussed strengthening the democratic institution, civil society, rule of law, climate change, migration and Rohingya, science and technology, labour, blue economy peacekeeping and law enforcement in the cluster discussion.
Education, diaspora, culture, regional integration, human rights and security were also discussed. A joint statement had been issued after the dialogue.