US delegation’s visit not poll-centric: Foreign secretary

Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen has said the upcoming visit of US under secretary Uzra Zeya to Bangladesh is not solely focused on the election.

However, the issue may come up among others on her agenda. He made the statement while talking to reporters at his office on Thursday afternoon.

The US under secretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights is scheduled to visit Bangladesh from 11 to 14 July, along with assistant secretary for Central and South Asian bureau Donald Lu and deputy assistant administrator of USAID Anjali Kaur.

Several delegations from the United States and the European Union will be visiting Bangladesh next week. Meanwhile, Indian foreign secretary (east) Saurabh Kumar has already reached Dhaka to discuss various issues associated with BIMSTEC, though the BIMSTEC secretary is not present in the city.

Asked if there were discussions with the Indian delegate regarding the elections, Masud Bin Momen said these speculations are irrelevant and inaccurate. The BIMSTEC secretary is not present in the city due to the demise of her mother.

He ruled out the speculations and reiterated that Saurabh Kumar came here to discuss BIMSTEC-related issues.

The foreign secretary also made it clear that Saurabh Kumar has no connection with the impending Bangladesh trip of the US delegation.

Masud Bin Momen claimed that the foreign delegations' visits are pre-scheduled and have separate grounds.

Regarding the agenda of the US delegation, the foreign secretary said he has no information suggesting that the US delegation's visit is solely election-centric. The visit is a continuation of the existing bilateral framework between the two countries.

He went on saying that many issues would be discussed during the visit, including human rights, Rohingya camps, labour, and trade issues.

"Her mandate covers a wide range of issues, with the election being just one among many others. We are not ruling out the issue. But it would not be fair to consider the visit as solely focused on the election," he added.

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