Donald Lu came with very positive note: Hasan

“He (Lu) came with a very positive note... His visit here is to strengthen ties with Bangladesh,” he told reporters after holding a meeting with Lu at the foreign ministry here.
The foreign minister said they talked in a very cordial atmosphere and discussed advancing the multifaceted Bangladesh-US ties.
“We didn’t talk about our election or humanrights issues . . . both of us didn’t want to revisit our past ... We want to look at thefuture,” Hasan said while replying a question.
He said the US assistant secretary assured him that Washington would return the GSP facilities to Bangladeshi products when they reintroduced the programme to help Dhaka toexpand its export basket.
However, the foreign minister said, Lu suggested reviewing Bangladesh's labour policy in this regards.
Hasan said he urged the US to invest in Bangladesh’s 40 IT villages and special economic zones.    
The foreign minister said Lu also expressed Washington’s keen interest in assisting Bangladesh in strengthening its reserve and financial sector.
Hasan said they also discussed the US cooperation in modernizing the Bangladesh’s taxation system.
Bangladesh foreign minister demanded the US return Rashed Chowdhury, the convicted and self-declared killer of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whois now residing in the US, reports BSS.
In reply, Lu said, though the issue of Rashed Chowdhury has been dealt by the independent US justice department, the US state department will assist Bangladesh mission in Washington to get positive outcomes in this regard.
The foreign minister said they discussed thewithdrawal of sanctions on some individualsof the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
“The US visa policy (for Bangladeshi citizens)is dormant now, so we didn’t discuss thatissue,” he said while replying to a question.
The foreign minister said he also urged the USto put it's efforts to establish peace in Gaza.In reply, Lu said, US secretary of state AntonyBlinken is working tirelessly to make aceasefire in Gaza and he is optimistic aboutrealizing that.
During the meeting, the US assistant secretaryof state also assured Bangladesh ofWashington's support for compacting withadverse effects of the climate change.
Earlier, after the meeting at a separatebriefing to media, Donald Lu said, “The UShas been trying to rebuild trust with Dhakaafter an episode of “tension” centeringBangladesh’s January 7 general elections.” “I visited Bangladesh last two days in order totry to rebuild the trust between our peoples.
The United States worked very hard topromote free, fair and nonviolent electionshere, and it causes some tensions. This iscommon in our relationship,” he said.
He added: “Last year, we know there were alot of tensions between the United States andBangladesh. . . (but, now) we want to lookforward not look back; we want to find ways tostrengthen our relationship.”