US-Bangladesh bonhomie: John Kerry in Dhaka

Originally, John Kerry came to Dhaka from Delhi to invite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to a virtual climate summit on behalf of the US President.

However, officials in Dhaka expect that a visit to Bangladesh by a representative of the new administration of the White House will play a special role in improving relations between the two countries.

John Kerry arrived in Dhaka on a special US Air Force plane from Delhi after 1130 hours.

Foreign Minister Abdul Momen welcomed John Kerry at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with Secretary of State AK Abdul Momen at the State Guest House and will have lunch there.

John Kerry will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office at around 1600 hours. At that time, he will hand over the invitation letter of Joe Biden's Leaders Summit on Climate to the Prime Minister.

He will leave Dhaka at around 1700 hours. After taking office as US president, Joe Biden announced on January 26 that he would convene a summit to boost cooperation among major economies in tackling the risks of climate change. Apart from Bangladesh, leaders of 40 countries including Russia, China, Japan, UK, Germany, France and India have been invited to the virtual summit to be held on April 22 and 23.

Diplomats in Dhaka say the main topic of John Kerry's brief visit is climate change.

However, various issues of cooperation between Bangladesh and the United States, including the resolution of the Rohingya issue, may come up for discussion.

When asked, Foreign Secretary Masood bin Momen told this correspondent that this is the first time a senior representative of his administration has visited Bangladesh since Joe Biden took over as President of the United States. They hope that John Kerry's visit will contribute to the overall development of Bangladesh-US relations.