The United States (US) has hailed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's commitment to hold free and fair polls as well as her openness to engage international polls monitors.
 
The appreciation came from the 9th Bangladesh-US Partnership Dialogue held at the US Department of State in Washington DC on Wednesday where key bilateral and global issues of mutual interest were discussed, said a press release received today.
 
Foreign Secretary Ambassador Masud Bin Momen and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Ambassador Victoria Nuland led their respective delegations to the dialogue.
 
During the meeting, Momen briefed his US counterpart about various measures taken by the Election Commission to pave the way for free and fair elections at both local and national levels.
 
The foreign secretary also briefed the US side about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Japan, and later to Washington DC to celebrate the 50 years of partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank.
 
He also shared the outline of Bangladesh's recently released Indo-Pacific outlook.
 
Ambassador Nuland noted number of areas of convergence between the two countries' respective Indo-Pacific documents.
 
Masud shared some of the positive developments on Bangladesh's recent human rights performance.
 
He reiterated the call for lifting the sanctions on RAB and extraditing Rashed Chowdhury, the self-confessed killer of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
 
Ambassador Nuland acknowledged the Bangladesh Government's announcement to review the Digital Security Act by this year.
 
She also emphasized the importance of continuing progress with the labour sector reform in order to attract enhanced investment from the US.
 
BDST: 1612 HRS, MAY 04, 2023
MN/SMS