For a period of roughly two years plus some change starting in December 2021 (when sanctions were imposed on RAB), the bilateral ties between Bangladesh and the United States were typified by a whole host of tensions. With both sides staying resolute in their positions, the situation continued right upto Bangladesh's 12th parliamentary election, held last January 7.

The US move, which it still says was to promote "free, fair and non-violent elections," caused the tensions between the two countries, although the superpower also thinks such frictions are nothing abnormal in relations between democracies.

It was against this background that US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, a man Bangladesh got to know very well in the midst of the frictions, this week described his Bangladesh visit as an effort to "rebuild the trust" between the people of the two countries.

"I've visited Bangladesh these last two days in order to try to rebuild the trust between our peoples. Last year, there were a lot of tensions between the United States and Bangladesh," he told reporters in a brief statement, noting that they want to "look forward, not back" - a classic US ploy to move on and make the best of the situation at hand, any situation, usually after failing to realise a situation it would have preferred.

We wrote over a week ago that Donald Lu's latest visit would be totally different from his pre-election engagement with Bangladesh. It ended in line with that expectation with a very positive note. Both sides engaged positively without bringing the past in their discussion. The bottom line is that the US wants to rebuild the trust; wants to look forward, not look back as clearly mentioned by Lu.

This time, the US side seemed to deliberately restrict its meetings and engagements to a limited set of individuals, so as not to miss the signal for the noise, that may have happened with others. Rather, Lu included a young climate activist Sohanur Rahman in a small civil society group discussion which was widely appreciated. Climate issues matter. Things went well and Lu left Dhaka for Washington early Thursday (May 16) fully satisfied.

Fuchka sets emphasis on 'soft power'

Having kicked off his engagements upon arriving on Tuesday by exploring the taste of Fuchka in Dhaka - clearly setting the emphasis for the visit on "soft power" - Lu also got engaged with social media influencers, apparently going for people instead of politics. He set politics aside.

His long informal conversation with PM's adviser Salman F Rahman over dinner at the latter's residence wrapped up Lu's engagements on day one. Another notable feature of the visit was the active concern expressed over climate change, which looks set to emerge as a major sphere of concern between the two countries in coming years - an issue beyond politics that both sides vehemently agree on (at least the current administration in Washington does).

With one eye on co-hosting next month's ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, Lu and Haas even played some cricket with the Bangladesh women's national team cricketers on Wednesday afternoon, again demonstrating the scope and thrust of this visit varied vastly from previous ones - before the elections in Bangladesh. People to people relations matter form the bedrock of Dhaka-Washington ties.

Lu had a courtesy meeting with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud at his office and discussed ways to deepen the "forward-looking" bilateral relationship between their two countries.

The United States said they stand with Bangladesh in building a "prosperous, secure, and democratic" future.

"Our discussion with the Foreign Minister today reaffirmed our shared commitment to cultivating economic growth, bolstering the workforce, improving security cooperation, addressing the climate crisis and reinforcing our values of respecting democracy and human rights," said the US side.

Talking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lu said they want to find ways to strengthen the relationship.

"So I spoke about working on hard issues. We have lots of hard issues -- RAB sanction, labour reforms, we have human rights, business climate reforms," Lu said.

In order to work on hard issues, Donald Lu said, they want to build up cooperation on positive issues.

"We are talking about new investments, more Bangladeshi students who want to study in the US and how to work on clean energy," he said.

The US also wants to support Bangladesh in fighting corruption, hold the officials accountable, ensure transparency and help widen the tax net.

Lu said the US worked very hard to promote free, fair and non-violent elections, which had caused the tension. "It is common in our relationship."

In a separate briefing, Foreign Minister Hasan said Lu came to Bangladesh to improve the relations.

On the GSP issue, the foreign minister said the US wants to help Bangladesh get it back when they reintroduce the programme. He said the US also wants to help Bangladesh strengthen its reserves.

They also talked about modernisation of the taxation system, Rohingya repatriation issue and genocide in Palestine.

"He told me that they also want to see peace in Gaza. They are hopeful and agree that peace needs to be established there," Hasan said.

The Foreign Minister regretted the continued loss of innocent lives in Gaza and emphasised the urgency of reaching a ceasefire. Lu highlighted the ongoing US efforts in this regard and hoped for a positive outcome soon.

Assistant Secretary Lu reaffirmed the United States' commitment to further the partnership with Bangladesh and take forward the new chapter of relationship.

They discussed a wide range of topics of shared interest, including economic cooperation, trade, investment, education, environment and climate change, security, Rohingya humanitarian response, women empowerment, labour reform, and aviation.

Assistant Secretary Lu also held a meeting with Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury (see below) and discussed bilateral issues with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin on Wednesday, the second day of his stay here.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen discussed a wide range of issues and underscored mutual commitment to strengthen the existing robust ties between two nations and advancing shared goals.

Assistant Secretary Lu shared US's unwavering commitment to enhance partnership and usher in a new era of collaboration. Foreign Secretary thanked the US for its continued support of Bangladesh's Development.

Lu reiterated US appreciation for generously hosting Rohingyas in Bangladesh. Foreign Secretary thanked the US for their humanitarian support for the Rohingyas.

Both sides further discussed trade, economy, women empowerment, labour reform, and aviation. These discussions underscore both countries' shared dedication to addressing pressing global challenges and fostering inclusive development.

"We were thrilled to join the engaging discussions with the influential social media personalities and dedicated volunteers from Bangladesh. Whether you're into diplomacy, social impact, or just looking for some inspiration, these episodes of "Cha with Peter + Don" are a must-watch," the US Embassy in Dhaka shared on its social media platforms.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen recently said the pre-election scenario and the current scenario are totally different.

"A new government has been formed. A stable government is carrying forward its activities engaging with various countries. All countries think of engaging with Bangladesh," Momen said.

As if to set the tone for the visit soon after Lu's midweek arrival, the US Embassy in Dhaka shared a brief video appreciating the taste of Bangladeshi fuchka. Lu together with US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas were seen in the video.

"Bangladeshi fuchka is the best," they were heard saying while tasting the popular snack together, prepared by a celebrity chef at the US Embassy premises

"East or West, Fuchka is the best! Guess what's cooking! We teamed up with celebrity chef Rahima Sultana to create a fusion of flavours with Fuchka and Jhalmuri! Are you ready for this epic culinary adventure? Enjoy the sneak peak and stay tuned for the full video!," read a message tagged with the tiny video.

Talking to reporters at his residence on Tuesday night, Salman said the United States expressed willingness to expand the existing relations with Bangladesh on key fronts.

"We want to rebuild the trust," Salman quoted Lu as saying during their discussion over dinner at his residence. "That's the most important thing. We also reciprocated saying that we also want that."

The two sides did not raise the "kind of misunderstanding" that apparently happened before the national election.

Diplomatic spin

Donald Lu extended his country's best wishes to the Bangladesh team ahead of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies.

"We wish the Bangladesh Men's National Team good luck," he told reporters after making his cricketing debut Wednesday, in a friendly cricket match with the Bangladesh Women's cricket team, where he and Ambassador Peter Haas wore Bangladesh shirts.

Both the Men's and Women's teams were supposed to join the assistant secretary and Ambassador but the Men could not join as they were flying for their World Cup journey.

Bashundhara Group Vice-Chairman Safwan Sobhan welcomed Donald Lu and Peter Haas when they reached Bashundhara Sporting Club Complex.

"I would like to thank Bangladesh Cricket Board and Bashundhara Group," Lu said.

"I never played cricket before but we tried. It's really a lot of fun. And we are super excited to see Women's World Cup in Bangladesh," he said.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) already announced the fixtures for the ninth ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024, taking place from 3 to 20 October in Bangladesh, an event that promises to inspire and connect with a new generation of fans across the globe.

Ten teams will play 23 matches, over 18 action-packed days, at two venues in Bangladesh, the Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka and the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet as the world's best battle it out for the ultimate prize in T20 cricket.

Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar said the US side wanted to interact with them. "They are quite happy to interact. They know cricket is very popular in Bangladesh."

The special event marks the Bangladesh cricket team's participation in the inaugural T20 World Cup co-hosted by the US.

The 2024 Men's T20 World Cup starts on 2 June at 01:30 BST with hosts United States facing Canada in Texas.

Fight against climate change to deepen ties

The United States wants to help Bangladesh fight climate change, and Bangladesh in turn wants to deepen its relations with the US through this fight, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said on Wednesday.

The bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United States will be strengthened in the coming days based on the initiatives related to the environment and climate, he said.

The minister was speaking after a meeting with a 7-member delegation led by US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu at the secretariat on Wednesday.

The environment minister said the US plans to offer real-time satellite data for South Asia for free which will be able to monitor the effects of climate change such as natural disasters, floods, pollution, and sea level rise.

"We sought financial assistance for capacity building, smart agriculture and advancement of green and climate technologies," he said.

"A bilateral working group will be established for these purposes. Further discussions will be held on project implementation to ensure the welfare of marginalised people," he added.

The Environment Minister said how the US will help us with climate change was discussed.

Expressing his optimism, Chowdhury said that they will keep our needs in mind in the US plan. He said the discussion emphasised the importance of cooperative efforts to ensure sustainable development as well as tackling environmental and climate change. The United States reiterated its commitment to work together to combat climate change, he said.

The US delegation included US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter D. Haas, whose replacement was also named this week. David Slayton Meale has been tapped as the next US ambassador to Bangladesh.

President Joe Biden announced the nomination, highlighting Meale's extensive career in foreign service, including his current role as deputy chief of mission in Beijing, China, and former deputy chief of mission in Dhaka.

With experience in trade policy, sanctions implementation and various diplomatic postings, Meale brings a wealth of expertise to the role.

He joined the US Foreign Service in 1992 and holds the rank of minister-counselor. While making the announcement, the White House also shared insights into Meale's career.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of minister-counselor, Meale is currently deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Beijing, China, where he also served as chargé d'affaires ad interim.

Prior to this role, he was deputy assistant secretary for Trade Policy and Negotiations for the State Department's Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.

He was previously the bureau's director for Sanctions Policy and Implementation.

Other positions include associate dean for the Leadership and Management School at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington, District of Columbia; deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh; counsellor for Economic Affairs at the US Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine; deputy director of the Office of Monetary Affairs in the Economic Bureau; and additional positions in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Guinea and Washington.

Before joining the Foreign Service, Meale held positions in corporate finance with Sprint Telecommunications.

A native of Virginia, he holds an MS from the National Defense University's Eisenhower School, an MBA from Tulane University and a BA from the University of Delaware.

His appointment has to be confirmed by the US Senate.

Haas, who endured one of the rockiest, most turbulent periods to be the US envoy in Dhaka, as Washington took an outsized interest in the country's last election, polarised opinion in Bangladesh, but he was just doing his job mostly, representing the US position.

Haas had presented his credentials on March 16, 2022 - over three months after the first-ever US sanctions against Bangladeshi officials or entities had already been announced.

During Haas's stay here, the US announced a visa restriction policy ahead of the January 7 election. Although it wasn't his doing, the end of his tenure would also provide the symbolic closure, in many people's minds, to one of the most difficult periods the two countries have endured in their bilateral engagements. But all's well that ends well.