Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain has dismissed any speculations linking the US with Bangladesh's southern St Martin’s Island.
“As far as I know, there isn't any,” he said on Tuesday when asked about the link as claimed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and whether the issue would come during the upcoming meeting with Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu which will come to Dhaka on September 15.
Hasina has repeatedly said that the US is putting pressure on her to get Saint Martin’s Island to build a military base. The US has rejected such claims.
Even after fleeing to India amid protests on August 5, Indian media reported that the former prime minister had accused the US of ousting her from power for not handing over Saint Martin’s Island, which would have enabled the US to have "sway over the Bay of Bengal".
“The United States has explicitly said – no, we don't have (interest) anything like that. To my knowledge also, there isn't. But I can't say if there is anything beyond this," the foreign affairs adviser said.
Brent Neiman, acting assistant secretary of the Treasury for International Finance and Development at the United States Department of the Treasury, will also accompany Lu during the visit, first after the interim government took charge on August 8.
The delegation will call on the chief adviser and will have meetings with the finance adviser and the foreign adviser.
Bangladesh will seek financial assistance from the US during the talks.
“We will surely seek assistance from the US but I can’t tell what will be the form of that assistance,” the adviser said while replying to a question at the foreign ministry.
He also said that issues related to the sanctions against RAB and visa sanctions will not be on the agenda, but it can come in the discussion.
“We’ll discuss issues of our interest,” he said.
“I don’t think visa sanctions will affect our bilateral ties as it’s their own policy and it’s only effective for selected persons not all,” he said.
Responding to another question, he said that he was not aware why India did not resume full operations of its visa centres in Bangladesh.
“Only they can tell,” he said, adding that like Bangladesh, India also has business interests in the country.