United States Ambassador in Dhaka Peter Haas said on Tuesday that the successes of Bangladesh are “real” and that the country is not Sri Lanka.
“I will say in Washington that I believe that in the last 50 years, Bangladesh has had no better friend than the United States. And that it will have no better friend over the next 50 years,” he said as he will be on his first trip to Washington soon, three months after his assuming the office in Dhaka.
Bangladesh did “extremely well” regarding the macro financial standpoint, he said, refuting speculations by some quarters about the country’s economic situation in reference to the Sri Lanka crisis.
“Basically Bangladesh is not Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that the country has been exceedingly careful on with whom it would borrow money from and under what terms.
He was replying to a question at an interaction with the members of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the National Press Club.
The ambassador said Bangladesh’s lending from China was relatively smaller in amount as Dhaka preferred more Asian Development Bank (ADB), The World Bank Group and Japan for external financing.
He said Bangladesh was unlikely to face a situation which was now being witnessed in Sri Lanka also because the country currently had substantial foreign currency reserves.
The ambassador arrived in Dhaka three months ago. As he will go on his first trip to Washington soon, he said he planned to meet with a number of U.S. government officials, congressional staffers, NGOs, and businesspeople to discuss my experiences and observations in this country so far.
He will tell them: First, the successes of Bangladesh are real. Second, the challenges Bangladesh faces are also real. And third, the United States should remain the same steadfast partner to Bangladesh for the next fifty years as it has been over the past fifty years.
“The successes of Bangladesh are real,” he said.
“Just think for a moment about how far Bangladesh has come since its war for independence--from a newborn country devastated by conflict to a thriving country with one of the world’s fastest growing economies.”
According to the World Bank, accounting for inflation, Bangladesh’s GDP has grown by a factor of 50 since 1972.
In that year, Bangladesh’s GDP per capita was $94 in today’s currency.
Today, it is nearly $2,000. In the same time frame, infant mortality rates have fallen by 85%.
In the past 20 years, the number of people living below the national poverty line in this country has been cut in half.
That is roughly 40 million people who have risen out of poverty.
Soon, Bangladesh will graduate from Least Developed Country status, and it is steadily progressing towards becoming a middle-income country, he said in his speech.
“These accomplishments are real, tangible, and truly extraordinary.”
“But as real as these accomplishments are, the challenges that Bangladesh now confronts are just as real. And they are no less daunting.”
Bangladesh’s geography on a low-lying river delta, with a long coastline and large floodplains, makes it extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Increasing temperatures raise the threat of cyclones, floods, crop destruction, food shortages, respiratory diseases, and mosquito-borne diseases.
When it comes to democracy and human rights, the United States has raised our concerns publicly and privately.
“We are concerned about press freedom, especially the Digital Security Act, and several draft laws and regulations that could inhibit press freedom.”
“We are concerned about human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.”
“We are also concerned about insufficient labor rights and poor working conditions in Bangladesh,” said the ambassador.
“These concerns, unfortunately, cost Bangladesh access to the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences trade benefit, or GSP, in 2013. They are also causing Bangladesh to miss out on the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, a massive source of investment capital from the United States.”
Bangladesh is host to nearly one million Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal genocide in Burma.
“Their continued presence poses huge challenges. It is incumbent upon all of us to push Burma to create the conditions to allow a safe, voluntary and dignified return of Rohingya.
“In the meantime, we must all work together to ensure that the Rohingya refugees do not become a lost generation.
“In addition to basic food and shelter, they need education, livelihoods, good health care, and security to prepare them for when they return to Burma.
“And while the challenges I have just outlined are daunting, I feel they pale in comparison to the challenges Bangladesh has already overcome,” he said.
“The third thing I will say in Washington is that I believe that in the last 50 years, Bangladesh has had no better friend than the United States. And that it will have no better friend over the next 50 years.
“This year, 2022, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of friendship between our countries.
“Since 1972, the United States has provided $8 billion of assistance to Bangladesh.
“We continue to invest around $200 million each year towards development programs in health, agriculture, education, democracy and governance, climate change, and providing greater economic opportunities to the Bangladeshi people,” he said.
Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the United States has donated nearly $140 million in COVID assistance and 64 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Bangladesh.
The US also supported all aspects of the national vaccination campaign, from storage and delivery, to safely administering vaccine doses.
“And when it comes to security, our cooperation is deep and multifaceted,” he said.
“Members of the US military conduct exercises with the Bangladesh military in Bangladesh to strengthen Bangladesh defense readiness, build operational interoperability, and reinforce the partnership between our military forces.
“We also provide training to Bangladeshi law enforcement personnel and security services.
“In March, soon after I arrived, we held our eighth Bilateral Partnership Dialogue in Dhaka, which helped reinforce the big picture, strategic aspect of our relationship.
A few weeks later, Washington hosted the Bilateral Security Dialogue. On Thursday, June 2, we will hold a High-Level Economic Consultation.
“We are already moving away from a relationship based on assistance to one that emphasizes mutually beneficial trade.
“I believe our greatest opportunity to deepen our relationship is in building our trade and investment relationship.”
“We are ready to continue to work with Bangladesh and build on the progress we’ve made together in food security, health, and reducing poverty – while identifying new and innovative approaches to address issues like climate change, promoting democratic principles, and sustaining Bangladesh’s impressive economic growth,” said the ambassador.