As expected, Dhaka-Washington ties appear on the mend in the post-election scenario, cognisant of the realities of international relations. Despite failing to make the government in Dhaka bend to its will ahead of the January elections, the Biden administration will be well aware of the most likely and direct consequence of disengagement: driving Bangladesh into the waiting arms of the axis represented by Beijing and Moscow.

For years now, the Awami League government has been deftly balancing its various relationships on the international stage to avoid falling in completely with one side or the other. The advent of the Russia-Ukraine war, coinciding with US President Joe Biden's promise of a 'values-based foreign policy', certainly tested Sheikh Hasina's government's mettle on this front. But it calculated the risks of defying the US in particular, and the West in general, on certain issues rightly, and earned the public support of its international backers who were not shy to call out Washington on veering dangerously close to violating issues of sovereignty.

This week, a senior US government delegation visited Bangladesh, ostensibly with an agenda that included strengthening diplomatic ties and advancing shared interests in the Indo-Pacific region. Yet the most important signal that it gave off was that the US was far from disengaging with Bangladesh, irrespective of the disagreements over the election. The delegation comprised the National Security Council's Eileen Laubacher, the State Department's Afreen Akhter, who was very engaged with US policy towards Bangladesh in the pre-election period, and Michael Schiffer of USAID. The delegation met with senior government operatives, business executives, civil society organisations, and top opposition leaders during their stay.

It is al well-documented of course, how In the months and even years ahead of Bangladesh's January 2024 elections, the United States took strong steps to promote human rights and democracy, including through sanctions, visa restrictions, and public criticism. After the election, the State Department was forthright in its assessment that the vote was not free or fair. However, nearly a month later on February 6, Biden sent a letter to his Bangladeshi counterpart that notably made no mention of rights or democracy.

During the US delegation's visit this week, Bangladeshi officials were understandably upbeat about underscoring the theme of a page having been turned. Salman F. Rahman, the PM's advisor on private sector affairs and by all accounts one of the most influential figures in the present regime, went as far as saying the "election is now a thing of the past." The messaging and optics from both sides was warm and effusive.

It comes as no surprise because in spite of tensions over the election, Dhaka-Washington ties have been gradually increasing in a number of domains, including the vital security dimension. The US and Bangladesh Air Forces participated in exercise Cope South 24 from Feb. 19-28 at BAF Kurmitola Cantonment, Dhaka, and Operating Location-Alpha, Sylhet, Bangladesh, for a bilateral tactical airlift exercise sponsored by the US Air Force's Pacific Command. The people-to-people ties have, as always, continued to lead the way for the two governments to engage with each other. Biden's letter mentioned trade, defence, climate change, and humanitarian issues as areas of possible cooperation, and heralded the "next chapter" in the U.S.-Bangladesh relationship. This week, we saw the two sides get down to writing it.