Bangladesh and the United States plan to hold the next round of “partnership dialogue” in March as the two sides seek to have a “deeper engagement” on core issues of mutual interest, officials say.

Both sides are now in discussions to find a convenient date in the third week of March for the 8th Bangladesh-US partnership dialogue, an official told UNB on Sunday.   

Issues related to cooperation on development, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, governance, particularly human rights, security, counterterrorism; and cooperation on Covid-19 front are likely to be reviewed and discussed in the partnership dialogue.

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Once the date is finalised, US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Ambassador Victoria Nuland will arrive here to co-chair the partnership dialogue with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, said a diplomatic source.

Ambassador Victoria Nuland was sworn-in as Under Secretary for Political Affairs in April 2021. Prior to that, she was Senior Counselor at the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategic advisory and commercial diplomacy firm based in Washington, DC.

US Ambassador-designate to Bangladesh Peter D. Haas is likely to arrive here next month prior to the partnership dialogue, said an official.  

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In the last partnership dialogue held on June 10, 2019 in Washington D.C., the two countries discussed issues regarding freedom of expression and assembly; protection of human rights and combating trafficking in persons.

The two governments in the last partnership dialogue also agreed to continue to “cooperate closely” to advance a shared vision of a “free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and secure” Indo-Pacific region.