The United States wants Bangladesh to become a “net security provider” in the region in a “responsible way”, and wants Bangladesh to be able to respond to natural disasters and other issues positively with its growing capabilities.
“Bangladesh has made a lot of progress over the years, and we are proud to be part of that effort. We would hope that the Bangladesh government sees the Indo Pacific Strategy (IPS) as an opportunity to cooperate with us and our partners to help address some of Bangladesh's security concerns,” said Maxwell Martin, an IPS expert at the US Embassy in Dhaka, on Thursday.
While briefing a select group of journalists at the embassy on “Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) and its implications for Bangladesh”, he said Bangladesh-US cooperation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific is just one aspect of their wide-ranging bilateral relationship.
“The US-Bangladesh relationship is driven by our nations’ shared history, common values, and future potential. It is not defined by India, China, Russia or any third country,” Martin said.
Responding to a question, he said, they look at their relationship with countries in the South Asia region and Indo Pacific in general, on a bilateral basis.
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“We don't look at our relationship with other countries through the lens of another country. This is something that we hear sometimes in Bangladesh, in the media and kind of just in the commentary, that the United States looks at Bangladesh through the lens of India. And I don't think that's true,” said the IPS expert.
He said they look at their relationship with Bangladesh in terms of a set of shared interests and bilateral priorities.