Porimol Palma

US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain travelled to Bangladesh on April 17-20. He visited the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, met government officials, civil society and youth groups in Dhaka. In a written email interview on May 5, he shared with The Daily Star the purpose of his visit and the message he left here or will communicate to Washington.

Bangladesh and the US are holding the ninth defence dialogue in Hawaii today as the two countries seek to strengthen security cooperation in the changed geopolitical landscape.

Bangladesh and Denmark have recently signed Sustainable and Green Framework Engagement to strengthen the partnership on climate and green transition. It happened in Dhaka during the three-day visit of Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary and Danish Minister for Development Flemming Moller Mortensen. Before leaving Dhaka on April 27, Mortensen shared his views on future cooperation between the two countries with The Daily Star.

After over two years of pause, Dhaka and Washington engaged in a series of dialogues early April when the two countries celebrated half a century of diplomatic relationship -- both promising to deepen the bond in the next 50 years.

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark will make a three-day visit to Bangladesh beginning April 25 as the two countries seek to deepen cooperation on climate change, especially regarding renewable energy, and blue economy.

When it comes to US-Bangladesh relationship, one naturally points to the global superpower’s pro-Pakistani role during the Liberation War in 1971. Then comes the infamous tag “basket case” for Bangladesh by the then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Bangladesh should abandon the mentality of having a duty-free regime, cheap loans or foreign aid and focus instead on making products competitive by improving management efficiency, logistics and business environment as the country approaches graduation from the grouping of the least-developed countries (LDCs) in 2026.

On the surface, the 8th US-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue was a success.

Brac, a Bangladeshi non-governmental organisation, has retained its place as the world’s largest NGO for the last seven consecutive years.

DS: Bangladesh’s priority in the dialogue will be withdrawal of the US sanctions on Rab and reinstatement of the Generalised System of Preferences facility that was suspended in 2013. Do you think that Bangladesh will be able to make any headway?

Bangladesh and the US are going to hold a crucial dialogue in Dhaka today that will help determine the next course of relations between the two nations.

South Korea is looking at bringing in investments of major Korean brands like Samsung, Hyundai and Daewoo to Bangladesh in the areas of construction, engineering, electronics and automobiles as Bangladesh is improving associated environments and expanding the market base.

Bangladesh and the US are set to hold a crucial dialogue in Dhaka tomorrow, the first of a series of bilateral meetings in the coming weeks, which will help determine the next course of relationship as the two nations celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relationship.

Bangladesh and Switzerland celebrate 50 years of bilateral relationship today. The relationship is evolving as Bangladesh is gearing to become a developed country by 2041. Swiss Ambassador to Bangladesh Nathalie Chuard sat down with The Daily Star to share her views on what the future holds for the two countries.

Fleeing the horrors of war in Ukraine, Bangladeshis are finding new hope in other European countries.

Leaving behind horrors of war, the 28 Bangladeshi crewmembers safely reached the Romanian capital, Bucharest, yesterday after they were rescued from a ship attacked at a Ukrainian port on March 2.

Bangladesh and the UK will hold the first-ever defence dialogue in Dhaka today, as the two countries seek to take the bilateral relationship to a strategic level, amid security concerns in various parts of the world.

Palash Ahmed, a non-resident Bangladeshi in Ukraine, was in tears when the correspondent called him in the afternoon yesterday.

Iurii Melnyk, an associate professor of journalism at the Ivan Franko National University of Ukraine’s Lviv, is keeping the world posted after Russia began its invasion on February 24. The Daily Star’s Diplomatic Correspondent Porimol Palma caught up with him on Friday for on-the-ground information.

About 150 Bangladeshis have entered Poland from Ukraine over the last two days, fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24.