Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Mohammad Ziauddin has said Bangladesh is deeply engaged with the USA and other friendly countries to counter terrorism to ensure democracy and development.

The envoy made the remark when he met with Republican Senator Ron Johnson in Washington DC on Tuesday.

They discussed wide range of issues including bilateral trade and economic cooperation, according to a message received in Dhaka from Washington on Wednesday.

Senator Johnson of Wisconsin is a member on the US Senate Committees on Budget, Foreign Relations and Commerce, Science and Transportation.

This was Ambassador Ziauddin’s second meeting with the ruling Republican Party Senator within a week.

On January 24, he met with Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker and pressed for duty free trade facility for Bangladeshi products in the US market.

On Tuesday, the Ambassador briefed Senator Johnson on Bangladesh’s growing economy as well as development activities under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He recalled the brutal past of the Prime Minister and her family including the assassination of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, and her own struggle to materialize her father’s dream of a ‘Golden Bengal’.

The Ambassador said due to her own traumatic experience, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is determined to weed out all kinds of extremism and terrorism in Bangladesh and beyond.

On women empowerment, he said more than four million workers of Bangladesh’s apparel industry are women who are immensely contributing to society by poverty alleviation and containing the menace of extremism.

Responding to a query from the Senator, the Ambassador said the economic growth rate of Bangladesh last year was recorded 7%, which has been estimated 7.5% for this year.

Moreover, Bangladesh could maintain a steady growth rate above 6% for a number of years. To further increase Bangladeshi exports, the Ambassador sought duty free quota free (DFQF) market access to the USA.

Currently, only 34 African Least Developed Countries (LDC), out of 48 LDCs, are getting DFQF benefit, whereas the European Union is providing this benefit to all the LDCs.

Therefore, on the basis of justice and fair play, the US government should allow all the LDCs including Bangladesh to get the DFQF benefit, the Ambassador told the Senator.

Senator Johnson said that he is in favour of free trade where all can be benefitted.

Carol E. Foster, Legislative Assistant of the Congressman and Toufique Hasan, Minister (Political) of the Embassy were present.