The visiting high-level delegation from the United States is scheduled to hold a meeting today with the chief adviser to the interim government, Professor Muhammad Yunus, in Dhaka with focus on Washington鈥檚 support for Bangladesh鈥檚 financial stability.
The US delegation led by assistant secretary for International Finance at the US Department of the Treasury Brent Neiman would meet with the chief adviser at State Guest House Jamuna.
The delegation will hold聽 the meeting with the chief adviser after holding separate meetings with finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed and foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain at State Guest House Padma in the morning, foreign ministry officials confirmed on Saturday.
Brent Neiman arrived in Dhaka Saturday morning to lead the US delegation to discuss bilateral issues with the interim government and the private sector investors.
鈥楿S and Bangladeshi officials will discuss how the United States can support Bangladesh鈥檚 economic growth, financial stability and development needs,鈥� said the US Department of State in a statement issued from Washington in the past week.
This would be the first meeting of the high-level delegation from the United States of America with the Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus-led interim government formed on August 8, three days after the fall of Sheikh Hasina on August 5 amid a student-led mass uprising.
The US assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, who flew to Dhaka from New Delhi Saturday afternoon concluding his four-day visit to India, would join the US delegation in the meetings today.
鈥業n Dhaka, Lu will join an interagency delegation for meetings with the interim government. The delegation will include representatives from the US Department of the Treasury, USAID, and office of the US trade representative,鈥� said the US statement.
Throughout his trip till September 16, Lu would reaffirm the US commitment to supporting their partners鈥� economic growth and promoting stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region, according to the statement.聽
Donald Lu last visited Bangladesh in May 2024.
The government of Bangladesh and the US signed the 鈥楧evelopment Objective Grant Agreement鈥� in 2012 under which financial assistance worth around $1.5 billion was provided between 2012- 2021 in the areas of democracy/governance, economic growth, health/education, environment/energy and humanitarian assistance.
After that, on September 27, 2021, a new DOAG (2021-2026) was signed between the Economic Relations Division of Bangladesh and USAID.
By implementing the current DOAG (2021-2026), the USAID is committed to contributing $954 million, according to the ERD annual report for 2022-23.
It is expected that an amendment to the DOAG would be signed between ERD and USAID for enhancing financial cooperation, said ERD officials.