Bangladesh-US relations

Aid to Bangladesh
The United States has been of great help to Bangladesh in terms of financial assistance, which develops infrastructures in health, education, energy sectors. The United States, at the beginning, was the largest single donor country to Bangladesh, but it has gradually been reducing its assistance. Presently the United States is contributing to the tune of eighty million dollars annually as grants. Only twenty million goes to the government exchequer and the rest to non-government organisations. That means aid from America is dwindling. This is because the number of aid recipients has increased since the dismantling of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and also because of the huge expenditure incurred by the United States in the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Aid to Bangladesh includes food security, tropical forest and building up good democratic process as fields of utilisation.

Millennium challenge corporation is the new programme of the Bush administration. This is conducted in accordance with Section 608(d) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003. A Board of Directors determines the eligibility for MCA assistance. The countries are selected on the basis of the policies and programmes that help them achieve lasting poverty reduction and economic growth, their demonstration of just and democratic governance, economic freedom and investment in people and elimination of corruption. Bangladesh was disqualified from receiving a share of the cake from this millennium challenge corporation's earmarked $ 2.3 billion because of high rate of corruption in the country.

Armenia, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Benin, Bolivia, Ghana, Morocco, Georgia, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar and Vanuatu were selected for receiving assistance.

Bangladesh signed food aid agreement with US in 1973.Since then she has been receiving food aid under PL 480, but recent trend indicate that a major component of food aid goes to non-government organisations.

Investments from US
The investments from the United States are not negligible either. As of now $ 1.4 billion were invested by the United States in Bangladesh since the establishment of diplomatic relations. America's investment mainly concentrates on the banking, energy and insurance sectors. The American oil giant Unocal ultimately agreed to develop the Bibiyana gas field for local market, signalling an apparent end to gas export issue, which caused heated debate in national politics. It may be noted that Chevron Texaco bought Unocal in August last year (2005), which would facilitate Chevron to have access to Unocal's oil and gas assets in Asia. According to latest statistics, America tops the list of foreign investors in Bangladesh. A number of agreements have been signed between the two countries, which include protection of investment, scientific cooperation and avoidance of double taxation.

Trade relations
Another agreement is in the process under the nomenclature of 'trade and investment framework'. This agreement, if signed, would facilitate both the countries to talk about the problem of trade and investment. It could help bring more direct investment from America. Trade relations have been expanding gradually between the two countries. The balance of trade, however, is in favour of Bangladesh. Bangladesh exported to the United States goods worth about $ 2.4 billion up to June, 2004 whereas Bangladesh imported goods from the United States to the tune of $ 350 million. The volume of trade from Bangladesh stood at $ 2.5 billion last year and is expected to reach $ 2.9 billion this year. The imposition of quotas on the import of Chinese readymade garments helped Bangladesh to export more garments to the United States. Apart from garments, Bangladesh's exports include fish and vegetables. Machinery, cotton and wheat are the import items from the United States. The United States is thus the largest export destination of Bangladesh products.

Bangladesh's exports would face difficulties in future if the bill in the Senate (191) sponsored by Senator Gordon Smith (R), Senator Rick Sanatorium (R) and Senator Dianne (D) and Senator Max Baucus (D) on January 26, 2005 and the bill in the House of Representatives sponsored by Jim Kolbe (R) and Joseph Crowley (D) on February 17,2005, which proposes to accord duty free access of textiles and other exports from the Least Developed Countries of Asia and the Pacific region, do not get through the Congress.

Of late, contacts between political leaders, academicians and journalists of the two countries are on the increase. There has been, noticeably, a new attitude in America's diplomacy towards Bangladesh, which has been dubbed as moderate Muslim country. The Bangladesh embassy in Washington, DC has been receiving Americans, who shows interest in Bangladesh. Recently, two hundred trainees from naval academy were in the embassy to be briefed about Bangladesh. Another group of one hundred staffers of the Senate had been to the embassy in March last year to know about the administrative, legislative and judicial system of Bangladesh. This is a positive development indeed.

The increase in the number of members in Bangladesh-America caucus in the House of Representatives is a significant development. The present strength stands at twenty six. It was established during the regime of Awami League in 2001.Congressman Joseph Crowley is the co-chair of this Caucus, who represents Democratic Party while Peter King, Congressman from Republican Party is another co-chair. It is a bipartisan caucus in the House of Representatives. In the second week of February last year the Senate was presented with a new idea floated by Dr. Mohammad Yunus about tsunami scholars programme by Senator Durbin, who met Dr. Yunus in Dhaka. Dr. Yunus is known in the United States for his innovative low-interest loan to landless people in Bangladesh through Grameen Bank project. Grameen Bank project of Bangladesh was also replicated by Arkansas State of America.

Bangladesh has been a partner in combating terrorism in all its form with the United States since its declared policy following terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

In the private sector there have been exchanges of business personalities between the two countries that also help promote relations in commercial area. A significant development took place in information technology when an agreement was signed on December 05,2005 by Microsoft Bangladesh, a joint venture project of Microsoft Corporation of Bill Gates with the Ministry of Education to train ten thousand teachers and twenty thousand students over three years time. The participation by the embassy of the United States in the export exhibition every year has gone a long way in introducing American products in Bangladesh.

The visit of Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States twice on the eve of general elections in Bangladesh in 2001 was indeed memorable. This contributed toward improvement of democratic process in Bangladesh although none of the leaders in the government or in the opposition honoured their pledges. President Bill Clinton's visit to Bangladesh was the highest level visit from US in 2000.

Although Bangladesh has been receiving word of concern from Bush administration on the deterioration of law and order, she at the same time has been receiving praises for participation in peacekeeping forces in different trouble-torn countries under the aegis of the United Nations. Bangladesh became the largest contributor to UN peace-keeping operations.

The visits of high officials, ministers, senators from America to Bangladesh and vice versa demonstrates the good bilateral relations that exist between the two countries.

Mohammad Amjad Hossain, a former Bangladesh diplomat, now resides in Virginia.