<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today said the United States wants to establish a stronger relationship with Bangladesh, leaving aside the “misunderstandings”.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“They (US) consider Bangladesh to be of importance. They want good relations with us where new possibilities are created,” Momen told reporters in Sylhet, adding that yesterday (February 15, 2023) was a “great day for Bangladesh.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Referring to important discussions with senior diplomats from India, USA and South Korea, Momen said they all appreciated Bangladesh’s efforts and made a commitment to continue working for deeper relations.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bangladesh has seen a series of visits by senior US officials in recent months with the last by US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia, Donald Lu, before the arrival of Counselor of the US Department of State, Derek Chollet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We had a very good discussion. They came to strengthen relations,” Momen said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Wednesday, Chollet said they remain “hopeful” about future relations with Bangladesh – building on the strong partnership that has developed over 51 years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">“We are hopeful for the future. It has been 51 years of a very strong partnership. We are looking forward to the next 51 years and beyond. We have many shared challenges but we have many common opportunities that we have talked about today,” he told reporters after his meeting with Foreign Minister Momen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US State Department counselor said that the US places considerable importance on its relationship with Bangladesh, which is growing politically, economically and in terms of security. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>