State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam on Tuesday reiterated the standard line of the government that the United States sanctioned elite force RAB and individuals associated with it on the basis of wrong information.

The State Minister was participating in the discussion on the thanksgiving motion on the President's speech in Parliament.

Alam said that the date of December 10, 2022 was specifically chosen by the BNP for the culmination of its program of divisional rallies to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of America sanctioning RAB, which he called 'one of the most successful law and order forces of Bangladesh'.

“BNP thought they could get another round of sanctions," Alam asserted, before saying effective and diligent diplomacy together with regular high-level communications had prevented the outcome BNP were hoping for.

“At least 15 to 20 important high-level meetings have been held in the last one year,” he informed the House. All in all, he said apart from the US administration, the governments of its like-minded countries too had been brought around to the government's view through constructive engagements over the last one year.

Read more: We remain better prepared in 2023: Shahriar Alam

Before moving on, Alam vented his regret at how the pandemic-induced travel ban prevented him from visiting the United States in the run-up to December 2021 - the suggestion being he could have prevented the sanctions from being imposed.

Turning to domestic matters, Alam said that Awami League is close to the people, and knows itself.

“Awami League knows its strengths and limitations,” he said.

Read more: We don't expect US to impose more sanctions: Shahriar