By IANS,
Dhaka : US President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit Bangladesh, media reports said Thursday.
Seated next to Obama at a working dinner hosted by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Hasina spoke on Bangladesh’s woes in an era of climate change.
The interaction was described as “most cordial” by foreign Minister Dipu Moni, The Daily Star said.
The dinner was a major event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, United News of Bangladesh (UNB) news agency reported.
Among the recent former US presidents, while Bill Clinton paid a brief visit, George W. Bush cancelled a planned visit to Bangladesh.
Bush had welcomed the election of Hasina and her Awami League as “success of democracy”.
The Obama administration has approved in principle the Hasina government’s initiative for a South Asian forum against terrorism and Dhaka’s bid to hold trial of “war criminals” who killed unarmed civilians during its freedom movement in 1971.
During her visit to the US, Hasina hopes to get greater duty-free access for Bangladeshi goods and attract American investment, media reports have said.