The Daily Morning Voice Online Desk: The United States has said civil society voices in every country are critical to upholding people’s right to freedom and dignity. US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas hosted a dinner on Sunday night listened to the work of human rights advocates in Bangladesh. Lu left Dhaka early Monday (2am) wrapping up his quick visit with a series of meetings.

During his visit, Lu committed US Administration’s continuous support and cooperation for all future endeavours and referred to the tremendous socio-economic development in Bangladesh since independence. Both sides acknowledged the current trajectory of excellent bilateral relations and wished to explore new avenues and approaches to increase bilateral economic cooperation and trade. US Assistant Secretary Lu met Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Sunday in separate meetings. In addition, Lu met Law Minister Anisul Huq, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime Minster Salman Fazlur Rahman.