Bangladesh-US ties: Momen-Blinken talks in Washington on Wednesday

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen is scheduled to leave Dhaka tonight for Washington where he will have a series of meetings, including one with US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken. 

 
There is no specific issue but they will have "broad-based" discussions as the new administration is in place in the US. "We want to develop a much solid relationship with the US," said Dr Momen.

With an upward trend in both way export and import, the total trade volume with the US jumped to US $4.1 billion in 2009 from US $1.5 billion in 1996, reflecting a 59.4 % increase in the total trade volume. 
 
Since then, the figure showed an increasing trend of trade with the US with an amount of $6.4 billion in 2014 to $ 9 billion in 2019. 
 
However, the trade figure with the US was US $3,405.4 million until mid-2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic. 
 
In 2018-19, Bangladesh export to the US was US $6.8 billion, including major exportable items, such as, woven apparel, knit apparel, miscellaneous textile products, cap, headgear, footwear, tobacco, snacks food, furniture, ceramic, toys, plastic items and artificial flowers. 
 
Earlier, the foreign minister said, there were indications that the new US administration under President Joe Biden would look into the issue of genocide in the Rakhine State and will hopefully proactively take action for their safe return to Myanmar.