Last Updated on January 23, 2026 11:01 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Zakir Hossain, Dhaka
Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has said that the February 12 general elections would “set the standard for good elections in the future,” as he met newly appointed US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent Christensen at the State Guest House Jamuna recently.
During the maiden courtesy call, the two sides discussed the upcoming polls, labour law reforms, Bangladesh–US tariff negotiations and the Rohingya crisis, according to the chief adviser’s press wing. Yunus said the interim government was fully prepared to hold “free, fair and transparent” elections and noted that the European Union would deploy a large number of election observers, expressing hope that other development partners would follow suit.
“It will be a festive election. It will set the standard for good elections in the future. Let’s keep our fingers crossed,” he said. Ambassador Christensen, who arrived in Bangladesh earlier this month, said he was looking forward to working with whoever wins the February elections. He praised the interim government’s reform initiatives, commended Yunus’s leadership over the past 18 months, and welcomed the newly promulgated labour laws.
On trade, Yunus thanked US President Donald Trump for lowering tariffs on Bangladeshi exports and expressed hope that ongoing negotiations would lead to further reductions. The US envoy welcomed progress in the talks, stressing that expanded agricultural trade remained a key pillar of Dhaka–Washington discussions. The chief adviser also lauded continued US humanitarian assistance to over one million Rohingyas in southeastern Bangladesh.
Highlighting Bangladesh’s strategic location between South and Southeast Asia, he said Dhaka was seeking ASEAN membership and had applied for a sectoral dialogue partnership, while also pushing to revive Saarc as a platform for regional economic cooperation. The meeting also covered recent US visa restrictions imposed on 75 countries, including Bangladesh. National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman and SDG Coordinator Lamiya Morshed were present.