Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali in the United States reiterated the commitment of Bangladesh government to promoting religious freedom and communal harmony in the society.
The minister said this at the first day of three-day meeting of the ‘Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom (MARF)’ at the US Department of State in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
During the meeting, Ali elaborated different aspects of religious freedom being practiced in Bangladesh.
He also mentioned the mass celebration of Bangla New Year, a truly secular national festival, which brings together people of all faiths, as well as recitation from Holy Books of all major religions at the beginning of any national event, says a media release.
The foreign minister also said that there is a resonance of religious freedom in Bangladesh as the US is organising the Ministerial.
Earlier, US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel D. Brownback welcomed the Foreign Minister at the meeting and exchanged views on advancing religious freedom.
Ambassador Brownback, former Governor of Kansas and a US Senator, thanked him for accepting the invitation of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to participate in the first ever MARF.
Mr. Brownback mentioned that MARF is aimed at establishing a global standard for ensuring religious freedom regardless of countries.
He highly appreciated Bangladesh's role in hosting 1.1 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar irrespective of their faiths.
The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh and the US along with their friends and partners would continue to ensure and advance religious freedom for the peoples.
