Bangladesh and the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations, with both sides signalling fresh momentum in diplomatic engagement on issues of common good.
The renewed commitment came during the current visit of Washington's special envoy for South and Central Asia, Sergio Gor, who is busy discussing issues of close cooperation with Bangladesh officials.
Gor, who arrived in Dhaka on Thursday for a three-day visit, met Bangladesh's foreign minister, Dr Khalilur Rahman, discussing ways of expanding cooperation across a range of shared priorities, including regional security, economic partnership and broader strategic engagement.
Later briefing the press about the meeting, foreign minister Khalilur Rahman said they had a "very fruitful" discussion.
"We have wonderful bilateral ties with the USA and we have very positive discussions on how to advance the ties." the FM told reporters.
"We have discussions on entire gamut of our bilateral issues, including trade, energy, development, climate change."
He said discussion on further improving the trade and energy cooperation took place and both sides agreed to enhance the cooperation.
Responding to questions, he said that the meeting did not touch upon issues related to geopolitics, Bangladesh's ties with other countries and Bangladesh's domestic politics.
To another question, he said Rohingya issue was raised in the meeting but there was no discussion on giving Myanmar pressure to take back its displaced nationals.
"The US is the largest donor for the humanitarian support to the Rohingyas staying in Bangladesh and we commended that," he added.
The minister categorically said that issues related to China were not raised in the meeting when asked whether the US special envoy had expressed concern over the growing bilateral cooperation between Bangladesh and China.
Gor described the talks as productive, highlighting what he called "lots of positive developments" in the relationship.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said it had been "great" to meet the foreign minister during his first visit to Bangladesh and to discuss strengthening ties between the two countries.
The visit comes as Dhaka and Washington seek to deepen cooperation amid shifting geopolitical dynamics in the Indo-Pacific and growing interest in regional stability, trade and humanitarian issues.
Welcoming the envoy, the US ambassador in Bangladesh, Brent Christensen, said Gor's visit underscored the importance Washington attaches to its relationship with Dhaka.
He hoped the trip would help reinforce the US-Bangladesh strategic partnership while advancing collaboration on regional security and economic cooperation.
During his stay, Gor is expected to call on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for discussion, reflecting the high-level political significance of the special envoy's trip.
He is also scheduled to travel to Cox's Bazar, where he will visit camps hosting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar.
The visit is being closely watched as both governments seek to broaden engagement beyond traditional areas of cooperation, with officials on both sides emphasising a shared commitment to dialogue, stability and long-term partnership at a time of evolving regional and global challenges.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com