US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu will come to Dhaka on Saturday night.
Lu, who is now in India on a three-day visit, first came to Dhaka as a travel companion of Under-Secretary Victoria Nuland in March last year.
Although he has visited several countries in the region before, this is his first solo visit to Dhaka.
He will join a bilateral meeting with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.
He also has a courtesy meeting with Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.
Donald Lu will discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations and economic engagement.
Besides, he will hear perspectives on labour and human rights.
In this regard, the foreign secretary said: “We see this visit as a part of the entire relationship. We have been in discussions for the last whole year. Due to this, many people feared that new bans would come, but in fact, such a situation did not arise.”
The foreign secretary said that there can be tension in any relationship, but Bangladesh wants to maintain the continuity of the relationship. There may be temporary issues or concerns, but they should not disrupt the core relationship.
The two countries cooperate on many issues and all important issues will be discussed.
The foreign secretary said the focus will be on addressing the problem areas.
“We are always discussing the US sanction on RAB. Besides, we are discussing how to increase trade and investment, and how to improve the issue of labour rights,” he said.
Donald Lu became assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on September 15, 2021.
Before this assignment, Lu served as the US ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic from 2018 to 2021 and the US ambassador to the Republic of Albania from 2015-2018.
Before his posting in Albania, he worked on the Ebola crisis in West Africa as deputy coordinator for Ebola Response in the Department of State.
Lu is a Foreign Service Officer with more than 30 years of US government service.