President Donald Trump has distanced the United States from any involvement in Bangladesh’s continuing turmoil. Following a bilateral meeting in Washington focusing on trade and India-US relations, Trump brushed aside a question about the situation in Bangladesh, stating unequivocally that the issue was not a top priority for his administration.
“I’ll leave Bangladesh to PM Modi,” the President Trump said, replying to a journalist’s pointed question on what the US “deep state played a role in the regime change in Bangladesh”. Diplomatic experts had predicted that Bangladesh would be a hot topic in the Trump-Modi discussions.
Speaking about Trump’s statement on Bangladesh, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Mistri stated that the two presidents discussed the topic.
The two leaders exchanged their thoughts on the statement on Bangladesh. And the Prime Minister expressed his views and concerns about recent developments in Bangladesh and how India sees the situation.
This move comes after the United States suspended all help to the Bangladeshi government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. The Trump administration, through its donor agency USAID, has declared an immediate halt to all operations in Bangladesh.
This prohibition applies to contracts, grants, cooperation agreements, and other procurement activities conducted by the US in Bangladesh. In an official letter, USAID informed its partners that all programs under its Bangladesh operations will be terminated.
Dhaka has traditionally depended on international assistance for development projects. The loss of American aid is projected to have a significant impact, notably on educational and agricultural projects that received US financing.
