Staff Reporter: The Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Saber Hossain Chowdhury said the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United State will be stronger in the coming days based on the  environment and climate actions. These are priority areas for the United States, so the United States wants to cooperate with us in programs to combat climate change.  

Environment Minister said this to media after Afreen Akhter, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, held a productive meeting with him Sunday at his office in the Bangladesh Secretariat.

The minister said, we talked about how they will cooperate in meeting our needs in the light of environment and climate change. The minister said, we want to establish a new platform by forming a fund of 15 billion dollars to combat climate change.  All our development partners can help there.  I am optimistic, America will be too.  The minister said, they will keep our needs in mind in the US plan.  We discussed how Bangladesh-US relations can be further strengthened in the future.

The discussions underscored the importance of collaborative efforts between the United States and Bangladesh in addressing environmental challenges, tackling climate change, preserving natural resources, and promoting sustainable development. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to working together to address environmental challenges and ensure a sustainable benefit of present and future generations of for the region.

In attendance were distinguished representatives including Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United States of America Muhammad Imran,  Helen LaFave, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh; Michael Schiffer, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Asia at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); Alla Kamins, Deputy Director at the State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Nuclear Security and Non-proliferation; Hailey Becker, Acting Chief of Staff for the Bureau for Asia at USAID; Reed Aeschliman, Mission Director of USAID Bangladesh; and Bronwyn Llewellyn, Natural Resources Officer at USAID Bangladesh.

Biniyougbarta/SAM//