U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday met Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in his maiden visit here to bolster ties between the two nations.
The visit to Bangladesh, at the verge of U.S. President Barack Obama administration's tenure-end, is deemed "significant" by diplomats as they think that Washington is finally giving importance to Hasina's government, reports the Daily Star.
Apart from talks on terrorism, Kerry will hold discussions on US-Bangladesh cooperation on international issues, development, security and human rights.
He is also scheduled to hold talks with Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali.
He arrived in Dhaka around 10:10 a.m. local time and visited the Bangabandhu museum in Dhanmondi 32.
During his visit to the museum, Kerry noted that Bangladesh is moving in line with the vision of Bangabandhu under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's strong leadership.
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Kerry later in the day is scheduled to meet former prime minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
His Dhaka visit will be followed by a visit to India to co-chair the regular US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue with other senior officials from both countries.