2 US Congressmen to fly in tomorrow

Two US Congressmen — Richard McCormick and Ed Case — will be visiting Bangladesh from August 12 to 15.

The diplomatic visit is being seen as significant ahead of the country’s general elections, with Washington keeping a close eye on the matter.

During their visit, they are scheduled to meet with representatives from major political parties, including the ruling Awami League, the opposition BNP, and the Jatiya Party, as well as the foreign minister and members of civil society.

The Congressmen, Republican Richard McCormick and Democrat Ed Case, will also visit the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar as part of their trip.

“We welcome the visit by the US Congressmen to Bangladesh. We realise that we need more dialogue to improve our bilateral relationship and collaborate on issues of mutual interest,” Nahim Razza, Awami League lawmaker and member of the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs, told The Daily Star last night.

He added, “The Congressmen will have a better understanding of Bangladesh and its people as they will be meeting different stakeholders here.”

The visit comes ahead of the national polls in late December or early January next year.

As things stand, there is a stalemate over polls-time government, with the AL wanting polls under the current regime and the opposition calling for an interim government.

Against the backdrop of anomalies in the 2014 and 2018 national polls, the Biden Administration has repeatedly said that it wants the polls to be free and fair and will be keeping a close watch on it.

As part of putting pressure on Bangladesh, the Biden Administration imposed sanctions on Rab and its seven officials in 2021 and the new visa policy on Bangladesh was announced in May this year.

State Department’s Coordinator for Global Anti-Corruption Richard Nephew, during his visit to Dhaka from August 6-8, communicated to the government that they use sanctions as a tool to fight corruption.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told The Daily Star yesterday that the Congressmen will be coming mainly to visit the Rohingya camps and will also have a courtesy meeting with him.

The US is the largest donor to the Rohingyas, and they will see how their taxpayers’ money is being spent.

“Recently, the funding for the Rohingya has declined. The monthly food bill has been cut from $12 to $8. If they recommend more funding after visiting the humanitarian situation of the Rohingya, it will be good,” Momen said.

He said the Biden Administration wants to strengthen bilateral relations with Bangladesh, which is why a series of US officials are visiting Bangladesh.

US officials said democracy and human rights are two foreign policy priorities of the Biden Administration, and as corruption hurts democracy, Washington also has a global initiative to fight corruption globally.

As the Indo-Pacific has become a focus of global geopolitical competition, and Bangladesh is strategically located in this region, Washington also wants Dhaka to be on its side.

The US has also imposed various sanctions against Myanmar and declared atrocities against the Rohingyas as genocide.