Bangladesh and the United States have agreed on importance of a deeper and stronger partnership in addressing mutual security concerns while upholding the values of human rights and fundamental freedom.
The consensus came at the fifth Bangladesh-United States Security Dialogue held in Dhaka where the host sought enhanced training, equipment, and logistics support from Washington in areas of counter-terrorism, disaster management and the UN peacekeeping, officials of the foreign ministry said yesterday.
The daylong dialogue covered a wide range of issues related to security partnership between the two countries, including strategic priorities and regional security, defence co-operation, civilian security co-operation, UN peacekeeping and counter-terrorism, said a joint press statement.
“Both sides agreed on the importance of a deeper and stronger partnership in addressing mutual security concerns while upholding the values of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” it said.
Additional foreign secretary Kamrul Ahsan led the Bangladesh delegation comprising representatives of different ministries and government organisations while Deputy Assistant Secretary of State William Monahan headed the US team comprising representatives from the Departments of State and Defence.
United States ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat and embassy officials also attended the dialogue.
The two countries have been holding the dialogue regularly since April 2012.
Bangladesh and the United States recognised the shared threats they face and that countering violent extremist groups such as ISIS, said the statement.
At the dialogue, the US delegation appreciated Bangladesh’s policy of ‘zero tolerance’ towards terrorism and violent extremism, and not allowing its territory to be used for terrorist activities against other
countries, it said.
They also applauded the Bangladesh government’s efforts to control terrorist activities in the aftermath of the Holey Artisan attack by involving all relevant agencies, and the launch of a specialised Counter-terrorism and Trans-national Crime (CTTC) unit under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), the statement added.
It further said, “The US delegation also commended Bangladesh for its contribution to international peace and security through participation in the UN peacekeeping operations and also in the Global Peace Operations Initiative, funded by the United States”.
The Bangladesh delegation appreciated the US assistance and support in further improving its disaster preparedness and response capabilities through joint Disaster Response Exercise and Exchange (DREE), construction of 600 multipurpose cyclone shelters in coastal belts, and provision for fast-moving boats to Bangladesh Coast Guard which has minimised the response time to prevent armed robberies within its maritime boundary, it said.