Foreign Minister Dipu Moni will discuss the generalised system of preference (GSP) issue with her US counterpart John Kerry on May 17.
“We will have a meeting on May 17 and discuss the GSP issue, the recent tragic accidents and the government’s actions so far,” she said at a press briefing at the ministry on Wednesday evening.
Dipu will leave Dhaka on May 12 to attend a meeting at the United Nations on human trafficking in New York and from there she will go to Washington to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry.
“He has taken charge recently and we will be having our first meeting. So, obviously all bilateral issues will be discussed in the meeting,” she said.
The US is currently reviewing GSP facility for Bangladesh and the outcome of the review is expected to be made by the end of this month or the first half of June.
Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque had told the press on Tuesday that he would go to Washington on May 13 to give the continuation of the GSP a last push.
Image crisis The recent crackdown on Hefazat-e-Islam will not hurt the image of the country, Dipu Moni told the media on Wednesday.
“The law enforcement agencies took action to disperse the mob and I do not think it will cause any image crisis for us,” she said, adding that everyone had the right to associate in a peaceful manner but Hefazat almost destroyed the entire area.
ICT The government has no pressure from anybody on holding the trial of the war crime suspects, the foreign minister said.
“Most of the countries do not talk about the trial. A few countries do but their discussions are limited to keeping the trials up to the international standards,” she said.
About Saudi Arabia, she said it had extended support for the trial. “They told us that it was our internal affairs.”
