Staff Reporter:
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus yesterday sought continued US support for key pro-jects and reforms as US Charge d’affaires to Bangladesh Tracey Jacobson met him in the city.
The issues of mutual interest and the fallout of the US decision to freeze the work of USAID across the globe came up in the discussion held at the State Guest House Jamuna here.
They also discussed the reform agenda of the interim government, the Rohingya crisis, migration and the country’s law and order situation.
Prof Yunus highlighted his recent moves to form a consensus commission and, under its auspices, to inaugurate dialogue with the political parties of the country.
“Once we have reached consensus over the reforms, the political parties will sign a July Charter to implement them,” he said.
Charge d’affaires Jacobson stressed that elections for a new government should be free, fair and inclusive. She also enquired about ‘Operation Devil’s Hunt’, recently launched by the country’s se-curity forces.
The Chief Adviser said he has called for reconciliation in Bangladeshi society, urging people to break the cycle of retribution and to create the grounds for peace and harmony in the country.
“We are all children of this country. There should be no place for retribution,” he said, adding that he has instructed law enforcement agencies to uphold human rights at any cost during their opera-tions.
The Chief Adviser thanked the US administration for continuing humanitarian aid to the one mil-lion Rohingya refugees now living in Bangladesh.
“The US assistance is the most crucial aid to the Rohingya refugees,” he said.
Prof Yunus also raised concerns over the US decision to freeze aid to other key projects in Bangla-desh, including the life-saving efforts of the ICDDR’B, one of the world’s renowned health research institutes.
He highlighted the role the ICDDR’B played in reducing deaths from diarrhoea and cholera to al-most zero in Bangladesh and in countries like Haiti in the Caribbean.
The Chief Adviser said whatever happens with USAID, Bangladesh needs US support during this crucial period of rebuilding, reforms and reconstruction.
“This isn’t the time to stop it,” he said.
