Billing Bangladesh as an invaluable partner in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region-a latest geostrategic focus--US President Joe Biden expressed his confidence that the partnership would further strengthen.
In a letter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday, President Biden specifically said that Bangladesh Coast Guard and Navy are invaluable partners in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region, contributing to regional effort to end trafficking in people and illicit drugs.
He also notes that the drive, resourcefulness and innovation of Bangladeshis serve as a model for the rest of the world.
Joe Biden wrote the letter marking 50 years of the bilateral ties between the United States and Bangladesh
"Bangladeshis and Americans both share the ideals of democracy, equality, and respect for human rights. Those are the foundation for healthy, secure, and prosperous societies," he says in the summit-level communication.
"We are proud of our partnership on development, economic growth and counterterrorism," the letter reads, adding that the two countries work together to address climate crisis, help the Rohingya survivors of genocide and support UN peacekeeping worldwide.
The Democrat recalled that in 1958, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman participated in a 30-day exchange programme in the USA.
Meanwhile, in a video message, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said 50 years later, the two countries collaborate virtually on every issue that matters to the people and the ties between Bangladeshis and Americans grow deeper and more intertwined with every generation.
"Our countries have forged partnership to improve public health, strengthening local health systems, bringing down the maternal mortality by two-thirds over the last two decades, and providing 61 million Covid-19 vaccines to combat pandemic.
"In 2021, the US bought more Bangladeshi products than any other country did, representing some $8.3 billion."
He stresses the importance of ensuring workers' rights to deepen the robust economic partnership.
"We are tackling the climate crisis together, strengthening the resilience of the communities that are already affected by the rising sea level and more severe storms, investing in clean energy and protecting wetlands and forests in Bangladesh for future generations," said Blinken.
"The US and Bangladesh address humanitarian conflicts and crises together, from responding to natural disasters to supporting Bangladesh's role as one of the largest contributors to the UN peacekeeping operations."
The US Secretary of State mentioned that the two countries are also working together to help the Rohingyas, who fled genocide and crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmar military.
"I look forward to seeing what our people will build together in the decades ahead as we continue to follow that 'star of freedom'."
He recalled that in February 1972, Senator Ted Kennedy visited Bangladesh and spoke to the students at the University of Dhaka and the values that tied the peoples of the two countries - the similar struggles for independence, love for liberty and journeys to follow the star of freedom.
He said after this visit, on April 4, then US President Richard Nixon sent a letter to Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, establishing the diplomatic ties, predicting that the ties and goodwill between the two peoples would grow for years to come.
Blinken mentioned that for long Bangladeshis started contributing to American society, saying it was architect Fazlur Rahman, a Bangladeshi, who designed the Shears Tower of Chicago, an iconic building of the USA.
