Despite the nation’s very obvious role standing against Bangladesh’s liberation, the US has, over the decades, become a key development partner for our nation. However, even that partnership has undergone numerous hurdles along the way, with Bangladesh being at the receiving end for the most part.
With the fall of the Awami League government and the nation finally standing a chance to regain its democracy in the process, now is the perfect time for Bangladesh and the US to rebuild its partnership. To this end, the recent visit of Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu -- the first US delegation to visit since the formation of interim government -- hopefully, heralds the kind of changes which can further solidify Bangladesh’s future as a democracy.
We can already witness some key developments taking place since the visit, with USAID having signed a development agreement worth over $200 million with the interim government to support Bangladesh in advancing development, strengthening governance, expanding trade, and generating employment.
According to reports, while the visit itself was focused squarely on bilateral relations, we hope that it will lead to some key issues being addressed. One of the more pressing matters, to this end, would be the reinstatement of the generalized system of preference (GSP), which was revoked in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster back in 2013.
In the 11 years that have passed since the disaster, Bangladesh’s RMG industry has made many strides when it comes to worker safety and the sustainability of the sector in general. For the US to continue to hold the GSP hostage for so long only does a disservice to Bangladeshis, given that our economy still relies heavily on RMG to prop up its economy.
Bangladesh is currently in the midst of a sea change whether we are discussing the state of our polity or indeed the economy. A renewed partnership with the US is, perhaps, just what we need at this hour.