A US delegation led by Ambassador to Dhaka Brent Christensen paid a courtesy call on National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders, including convener and opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam, MP. The meeting was held at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at the NCP’s central office in Bangla Motor, Dhaka.
The US delegation included, with Ambassador Christensen, embassy political adviser Eric Gilan and political secretary James Stewart. For the NCP, spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, acting head of the international cell Alauddin Mohammad, and cell members Monira Sharmin and Navid Nowroz Shah were present.
The meeting discussed Bangladesh’s future politics, democratic transition, the NCP’s political philosophy, Bangladesh-US bilateral relations and the recent trade deal in detail. The importance of relations with the United States for Bangladesh’s development in the current global economic and geopolitical context was highlighted, along with ways to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
At one point, NCP leaders raised existing public questions and concerns about aspects of the recent trade deal. In response, the ambassador and his delegation explained the issues and called for a serious review of the deal, saying it would create new opportunities for trade and economic cooperation between Bangladesh and the United States and bring positive results for both countries’ people.
There was also discussion of progress on necessary reforms through the referendum verdict and the implementation of the July Charter. NCP leaders expressed concern that the government was moving to implement reforms through a constitution-amendment committee without giving due weight to the referendum verdict.
The ambassador stressed advancing democratic progress and reforms through political dialogue, an inclusive process and the involvement of all concerned parties.
After the meeting, NCP convener Nahid Islam expressed hope that mutual cooperation, friendly relations and constructive dialogue between Bangladesh and the United States would continue.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report