The White House said on Wednesday that US President Joe Biden shared his concerns over the safety of people in Bangladesh in a phone call he made with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week. The statement by the White House comes one month after the country witnessed massive protests which led to the downfall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Biden shared his concerns about the safety of people in Bangladesh and the future of democratic institutions there, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said on Wednesday.
The phone call was made on August 26. Though the US had until now made no mention of the duo having discussed Bangladesh, Modi had mentioned on X that the leaders did share concern over the situation in Bangladesh. "They emphasised the restoration of law and order and ensuring safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had said.
After Hasina fell, the US remarked that it was "monitoring the situation" while emphasising that President Joe Biden was "consistent in speaking loud and clear" on human rights issues. The Biden administration also rubbished reported claims that the US was involved in former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation. Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, Vedant Patel termed such reports "laughable". "Any implication that the United States was involved in Sheikh Hasina's resignation is absolutely false," principal deputy spokesperson of the US Department of State Vedant Patel.
However, the new interim government's Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus recently met with US Embassy Charge d'Affaires Helen Lafave in Dhaka and both countries agreed to work together and strengthen ties on a range of issues.
Lafave said the US would work closely with Bangladesh in health, education, labour, governance and Rohingya issues. On the US being the largest contributor to the Rohingya humanitarian responses, Helen said the amount of Rohingya monthly food aid has increased this year after more US funding.
