Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has urged the US to continue supporting key projects and reforms in Bangladesh. He made the urge when Tracey Jacobson, chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy in Dhaka, called on him at the state guesthouse Jamuna in the capital on Tuesday.
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has urged the US to continue supporting key projects and reforms in Bangladesh. He made the urge when Tracey Jacobson, chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy in Dhaka, called on him at the state guesthouse Jamuna in the capital on Tuesday.
They discussed issues of mutual interest and the fallout of the US decision to freeze the work of USAID across the globe.
Prof Yunus and Jacobson also discussed the reform agenda of the interim government, the Rohingya crisis, migration, and the country's law and order situation.
He highlighted his recent moves to form a consensus commission and, under its auspices, to inaugurate dialogue with the political parties of the country.
"Once we have reached consensus over the reforms, the political parties will sign a July Charter to implement them," he said.
Chargé d'affaires Jacobson stressed that elections for a new government should be free, fair, and inclusive. She also enquired about Operation Devil's Hunt, recently launched by the country's security forces.
The chief adviser said he has called for reconciliation in Bangladeshi society, urging people to break the cycle of retribution and to create the grounds for peace and harmony in the country.
"We are all children of this country. There should be no place for retribution," he said, adding that he has instructed law enforcement agencies to uphold human rights at any cost during their operations.
The chief adviser thanked the US administration for continuing humanitarian aid to the one million Rohingya refugees now living in Bangladesh. "The US assistance is the most crucial aid to the Rohingya refugees."
Prof Yunus also raised concerns over the US decision to freeze aid to other key projects in Bangladesh, including the life-saving efforts of the icddr'b, one of the world's renowned health research institutes.
He highlighted the role the icddr'b played in reducing deaths from diarrhoea and cholera to almost zero in Bangladesh and countries like Haiti in the Caribbean.
The chief adviser said that whatever happens with USAID, Bangladesh needs US support during this crucial period of rebuilding, reforms, and reconstruction. "This isn't the time to stop it," he added.
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