Dhaka: Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Mohammad Ziauddin has said Dhaka is ‘working closely’ with Washington, neighbours and other friendly nations to eliminate extremism and terrorism as the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed ‘zero tolerance’ against all forms of terrorism and violent extremism.  

The Ambassador made the remarks during separate meetings with Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE), a member of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Ways and Means.

During the meetings held at the Capitol Hill they discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest with particular reference to the restoration of GSP for Bangladesh, according to a message received here from Washington on Tuesday.

He said Bangladesh-US relations are based on mutual trust and respect and both countries share the same values and objectives.  

Ambassador Ziauddin told the Congressmen that Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina herself is a victim of terrorist acts, having lost her father and 18 members of the family in 1975. Due to her own tragic experience she has a firm resolve against extremism and terrorism.  

He said Bangladesh shares the same principle as the US on ISIS and seriously condemns its heinous acts of terrorism.  

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is relentlessly working on education and women empowerment, Ziauddin said, adding that most of the workers in the RMG industry are women.  

On the bilateral trade, the envoy mentioned that Bangladesh does not enjoy any trade preference from the US while US Preferential treatments to the trans-pacific partners shall chip away at the competitiveness of Bangladeshi products trying to enter the US market.  

He noted that Bangladeshi apparels are subjected to high tariff in the US as opposed to zero tariffs to almost all other developed countries in the world. This could adversely impact the export of Bangladeshi RMG to the US market, women’s empowerment, poverty alleviation and above all, the country’s war against extremism and terrorism.  

To strengthen Bangladesh’s ongoing fight against extremism, the Ambassador said the US government should restore the GSP and allow duty-free access of Bangladeshi products to the US market, particularly RMG.  

Taking careful note of the briefings by the Ambassador, Congressman Adrian Smith said that he would look into the issues. Congressman Lee Zeldin, who is also a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, thanked Ambassador Ziauddin for the briefing on Bangladesh.  

Political Counselor Nayem Uddin Ahmed of the Embassy accompanied the Ambassador.