America
America cares for Bangladesh: Nisha Desai Biswal
Dhaka, March 27
US Assistant Secretary of
State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal has said
that "America cares" for Bangladesh and the country's people and
political leaderships would "chart a path toward an inclusive
democracy", a media report said on Friday.
Biswal attended the
Independence Day reception at the Bangladesh embassy in Washington on
Thursday evening where she compared the growing US-Bangladesh
partnership with the banyan tree US Senator Edward Kennedy planted as a
symbol of "friendship" at Dhaka University in 1972 soon after
independence.
"It is larger and stronger than ever, and it is
still growing -- just like the friendship between our two peoples,"
bdnews24.com quoted her as saying.
Kennedy was one of the
longest serving senators in the US and supported Bangladesh in 1971
against his government that sided with Pakistan.
The senator
addressed thousands of jubilant students at Dhaka University on February
14, 1972, where he said: "I have come here to say that America cares."
Referring to that speech, Biswal said the message remained the same: "America cares."
She
hoped that Bangladesh's people and political leaderships would
demonstrate "the foresight and leadership to chart a path toward an
inclusive democracy based on peaceful expression".