Visiting US Under-Secretary Derek Chollet at top-level talks Wednesday said Washington would support early Rohingya repatriation as Bangladesh also sought American investment in its economic zones.
Talking to newsmen after his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, he said the root cause of the Rohingya crisis lies in Myanmar and that the repatriation is retarded for absence of democratic regime over there.
Mr Derek, who is senior Counselor to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, observed that the repatriation would be tough with the military regime running the country.
During his meeting with the Prime Minister, he said they would try their best for the repatriation of the displaced people, PM's speechwriter Nazrul Islam told the media.
The counselor to the foreign minister of the United States takes a long view of the stalemate as he was quoted as saying that the "repatriation would be possible when a democratic government would return to power in Myanmar".
He noted that some recent high-level visits by US officials are reflection of the importance of the bilateral relations of the two countries. This relation will grow further.
"There are potentials to deepen the bilateral relations, but there are some challenges here," he was quoted as saying.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the US Under-Secretary that the next parliamentary election in Bangladesh would be free and fair as she is committed to democracy and the Election Commission is completely independent.
The prime minister told Mr Chollet that she never wants to come to power through vote rigging and that she always struggled for "people's right to food and vote".
Urging the USA to take step to end war in Ukraine she told the US delegation that "the world should stop this war right now as it has caused high inflation and commodity prices throughout the globe".
She noted that being the most powerful country, the USA can take measures to stop the war anytime as the disputes can be settled through negotiation.
Urging Washington to be proactive in resolving the Rohingya issue Sheikh Hasina said the displaced Myanmar nationals have become a big burden for Bangladesh.
"The local communities in Cox's Bazar are suffering and they have become minority due to the influx of such a huge number of Myanmar nationals there," she said, adding that Rohingyas are indulging in various criminal activities, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, militancy and infightings.
Meanwhile, after his meeting with the US under-secretary Foreign Minister Dr Momen said the United States has a great contribution in the humanitarian support for the Rohingya and is the largest donor for the humanitarian response.
The foreign minister said he asked the delegation to pour more investment in Bangladesh as the government is going to establish a hundred economic zones.
mirmostafiz@yahoo.com