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The United States hopes Bangladesh and India can work together to resolve differences over former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, describing the issue as a “major irritant” in relations between the two neighbouring countries.
While declining to take a formal position on Hasina’s possible return to Bangladesh or her participation in the country’s political process, a senior US State Department official said Washington wanted to see improved relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.
The official made the remarks during an “on-background” briefing in New York on Thursday, conducted on the condition that the official’s name not be disclosed. The briefing, titled “US Policy in Support of a Stable, Prosperous and Sovereign South Asia”, was held at the New York Foreign Press Center and attended by journalists from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Asked by a Bangladeshi journalist about Hasina’s reported intention to return to Bangladesh by December and the US position on the matter, the official declined to comment specifically on her plans.
“We understand that it remains a major irritant in the India-Bangladesh relationship, and so we hope that they can work together to find a resolution,” the official said.
The official also called for stronger relations between India and Bangladesh.
“We hope to see better, we encourage better relationships between both sides. And that’s what we support,” she said.
Asked whether Washington supported lifting the ban on the Awami League and whether Hasina should be allowed to return to Bangladesh and participate in the political process, the official said the matter was for Bangladesh to decide.
“That’s for the Bangladeshi government to decide,” she said.
The official said Washington had not specifically taken a position on what should happen with Hasina.
“But we have not weighed in specifically on what we think should happen with Hasina,” she said, while reiterating the US position in favour of better relations between India and Bangladesh.
The senior official described the current US-Bangladesh relationship as “very strong” and said Washington was focused on working with Bangladesh’s elected government to advance shared objectives.
“We will not weigh in on the domestic political ongoing discussions inside of Bangladesh,” the official said.
“But I will say is that our relationship with Bangladesh, our relationship with the BNP, is in a very, very healthy place,” the official said.
She said the United States would continue working with the elected government on goals aimed at making Bangladesh “stronger and more secure, and more prosperous”, while also benefiting the United States.
The official reiterated that Washington would not comment on Bangladesh’s ongoing domestic political discussions.
On counterterrorism concerns involving Bangladesh, the official said al-Qaida was a terrorist organisation and that the United States was prepared to work with any country on counterterrorism efforts.
Asked about a recent UN Security Council sanctions monitoring report, the official declined to comment specifically, saying she had not seen the details of the report.
“I don’t know the details of that report, but I can just say in general al-Qaida is a terrorist organisation, and we will work with any country to make sure we help them on counterterrorism,” she said.
Alternatives to major powers
The United States is not asking Bangladesh to choose between major powers, the official said, but wants to offer alternatives, particularly in sensitive areas such as critical infrastructure and telecommunications.
“We’re not saying you have to pick this or that, but we want to be able to present them with alternatives that we think are safer and better for their resiliency and better for their sovereignty,” she said.
The official acknowledged that Bangladesh is in a difficult geopolitical position and said Washington understood that countries could not always be forced to choose between major powers.
However, she said there were areas where countries needed to make decisions, particularly critical infrastructure and telecommunications.
“These are sensitive parts of their system,” she said.
The United States wants to help Bangladesh protect its sovereignty and strengthen the resilience of its systems by offering alternatives in such sensitive sectors, she said.
The official said Chinese companies, which Washington views as having backing from the Chinese Communist Party, could sometimes be difficult to compete with because of their pricing.
“That’s where we have resources, like the DFC and others, and working with our like-minded friends to make sure we can push alternatives,” she said.
US-India cooperation in Indian Ocean
The official also outlined growing US-India cooperation in the Indian Ocean, saying Washington and New Delhi were exploring ways to pool resources and work together in countries including Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Mauritius.
The cooperation would cover maritime security, combating illegal fishing, human trafficking and narcotics trafficking, as well as strategic and digital infrastructure.
The official said the United States and India had overlapping interests despite their respective “America First” and “India first” policies.
“We both have a strategic interest, and that’s where — and this is something the Secretary — I think you were at his press conference when we were in New Delhi. But America has an America First policy, India has an India first policy, but that doesn’t mean our interests do not align quite a lot,” the official said.
Washington and New Delhi were also looking at cooperation involving ports and next-generation digital infrastructure, including 6G standards, she said.
Trump-Tarique contact
Asked about possible future meetings between US President Donald Trump and Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the official referred questions about the president’s schedule to the White House.
She noted, however, that Trump had briefly met Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman during the week, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also met him in Manila during an ASEAN-related engagement.
“Those touchpoints have been happening, and I can’t tell you what’s on the schedule coming up, but I imagine there’ll be more opportunities for them to meet,” the official said.
