US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O Blake arrived in Dhaka on Saturday afternoon on a four-day visit to Bangladesh.
Blake, who is visiting the country for a second time since his appointment as the assistant secretary in May 2009, is due to hold hold meetings with top government, opposition and civil society leaders.
Diplomatic circle in Dhaka and government officials consider Blake’s Dhaka visit to be vital with context to the US government’s concerns over the removal of Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank’s managing director post.
Blake will hold a meeting with Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Khaleda Zia on Saturday. He will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Dipu Moni on Sunday.
Sources said Blake is expected to hold an exclusive meeting with Prof Yunus, and the issue of Yunus’s removal would dominate his discussions with top government leaders, opposition leaders and civil society representatives, sources added.
During his visit from March 19-23, Blake will also hold a summit meeting with the high-level US government officials from the South and Central Asian regions, including India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
He will also attend a Regional Strategic Initiative programme at the US Embassy in Dhaka.
Besides, Blake will visit Benapole to get a briefing on the immigration and trafficking issues and will visit the American Corner in Jessore, said a US Embassy press release.
He will depart on March 23.
According to a US State Department announcement, Blake’s visit to Dhaka is part of his three-nation travel plan to China, Bangladesh, and Kazakhstan from March 16-26.
Blake led the US government delegation at the US-China Sub-Dialogue on Central Asia held in Beijing on March 17-18. He also held discussions on regional issues with Chinese government officials and scholars.
Ending his visit to Bangladesh, Blake will visit Astana in Kazakhstan on March 24-25 where he will lead the US delegation to the second Annual Bilateral Consultations.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
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