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WASHINGTON, Feb 24: The United States is pledging help for Bangladesh's anti-corruption campaign and recognising efforts taken by the South Asian nation as a "good beginning," a Bangladeshi diplomat said, according to a report published in The Washington Times under the title, Embassy Row.
The report added: "Golam Arshad, press minister at the Bangladeshi Embassy, said the Bush administration promised to open an FBI office in his country during a visit to Washington by Reaz Rahman, foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Mr. Rahman met last week with Christina Rocca, assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs.
The United States also pledged its help in hunting for the assassins of former Finance Minister Shah A.M.S. Kibria, who was killed in a grenade explosion Jan. 27."
"The United States said it was highly appreciative of Bangladesh's peacekeeping efforts, and Bangladesh acknowledged the tremendous help of the United States in helping to promote democracy," Arshad said, according to the report.
The news agency PT reported Thursday from Washington: The US will open a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office in Bangladesh to help the country in its anti-corruption campaign and aid it in hunting down assassins of a former finance minister.
The US has agreed to open an FBI office in Bangladesh following the visit of Reaz Rahman, foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, to Washington.
But the news agency UNB, quoting the US Embassy sources in Dhaka said: The US Embassy in Dhaka denied Thursday reports disseminated by PTI that the US government and the government of Bangladesh "have reached an agreement to open an office of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Bangladesh".
When contacted a spokesman of the US Embassy said, the two governments "are continuing discussions" regarding the terms of reference under which the US government might be able to offer useful assistance in the investigation of the killing of former Finance Minister Shah AMS Kibria.
Yunus's proposal for tsunami-hit children
Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi economist who pioneered low-interest loans to make the poor into entrepreneurs has come up with a similar idea to help restore education for the children who survived the Indian Ocean tsunami, the same Washington paper reported.
It said: "Muhammad Yunus, who promoted the concept of microcredits in the 1970s, proposed his latest idea to Sen. Richard J. Durbin on a recent visit to Washington.
'"The Illinois Democrat told the Senate last week that Mr. Yunus wants to create a "tsunami scholars programme" that would encourage every college and university in the world to sponsor two students from the countries hit by the Dec. 26 disaster, educate them and send them home to help rebuild their communities.
"It is so simple and so obvious," said Durbin, who met Yunus on a trip to Bangladesh.
"The devastation of the tsunami took only a few minutes. It will take years to overcome. If we do the right things, we can rebuild those societies in the right way."
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