US to increase Rohingya humanitarian assistance: Shama Obaed

The United States has decided to increase its financial assistance for the Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh, reaffirming Washington's continued humanitarian support for the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.

Charge d'Affaires (CDA) ad interim at the US embassy in Dhaka, Eric Geelan, conveyed the decision during a courtesy call on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam at the ministry yesterday.

She welcomed the decision and thanked the US government for its commitment to enhancing humanitarian assistance for the Rohingyas, according to a foreign ministry press release.

The announcement comes as Bangladesh continues to seek sustained international support to address the protracted Rohingya crisis and meet the growing humanitarian needs of the displaced population.

During the meeting, the two sides also discussed a range of bilateral issues, including combating trafficking in persons, energy cooperation, particularly liquefied petroleum gas, and expanding educational and training opportunities through the Fulbright programme.

The discussions also covered the US State Department's annual trafficking in persons report and opportunities for further cooperation in addressing human trafficking.

Geelan sought Bangladesh's support for US candidatures in upcoming elections to the US and some of its affiliated bodies.

In response, the state minister assured the US diplomat that Bangladesh would give due consideration to Washington's requests.

The US envoy also enquired about the outcome of a recent visit by a high-level Bangladesh delegation to Silicon Valley in California.

Shama described the visit as successful, saying the delegation held a series of fruitful meetings with leading technology companies, their executives and chief executive officers of several start-ups.

She said the engagements opened opportunities for strengthening Bangladesh-US cooperation in emerging technologies and the broader technology sector.