By IANS,
Dhaka: US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake Jr. arrived here Saturday to meet Grameen Bank’s ousted chief and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and to confer with the American envoys from across South and Central Asia.
He will touch the Bangladesh-India border, visiting Benapole, a township in Sharsha upazila (sub-district) in Bangladesh’s Jessore district, to get a briefing on the immigration and trafficking issues concerning the two South Asian neighbours, the US embassy announced as the four-day visit began.
Blake has been outspoken in expressing the US support to Yunus, whom Bangladesh government removed from the celebrated Grameen Bank earlier this month, and has sought an “amicable” solution to the dispute.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned Yunus to express support.
A high court bench dismissed the appeal of Yunus, 70, who has now approached the Supreme Court against his summary removal from the bank he helped establish.
Blake is expected to have an “exclusive meeting” with Yunus.
“The issue of Yunus’s removal would dominate his discussions with top government leaders, opposition leaders and civil society representatives,” The Daily Star said, quoting “diplomatic circles and government officials”.
The itinerary also includes Blake’s meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia.
Blake will hold a summit meeting with the high-level US government officials from the South and Central Asian regions, including India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
He will also attend a Regional Strategic Initiative programme at the US embassy in Dhaka.
According to a US State Department announcement, Blake’s visit to Dhaka is part of his three-nation travel plan covering China, Bangladesh, and Kazakhstan March 16-26.
Blake led the US government delegation at the US-China Sub-Dialogue on Central Asia held in Beijing March 17-18. He also held discussions on regional issues with Chinese government officials and scholars.