The Hindu

Friday, Jun 20, 2003

Bangladesh troops for Iraq sought

By Haroon Habib

DHAKA June 19. The United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has
invited Bangladesh to participate in the reconstruction of Iraq, but said
that any decision on sending troops to that country should be taken by
Dhaka.

Gen. Powell, who arrived here on Thursday on an official visit, admitted
that the issue of sending troops was discussed during his official talks
here. "We discussed it ... I did not make any special request for that. I
leave the matter with Bangladesh Government and the legislature to decide
what may be the appropriate way for deployment of troops," he told a joint
press conference after his talks with the Foreign Minister, Morshed Khan.

Gen. Powell, who was in Dhaka for nearly five hours and had also met the
Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, said: "This is a matter for the
Bangladesh Government to decide, it's not a demand from the United States."
He praised Dhaka's "positive role" in the U.N. peacekeeping missions in
different parts of the world.

About his talks with Mr. Khan and other Ministers, Gen. Powell said they had
discussed the "fruitful economic relations" that existed between Dhaka and
Washington and decided to take more steps for mutual benefit. He promised
continued U.S. help for Bangladesh in its efforts to fight poverty,
terrorism and achieve economic progress. Gen. Powell said the U.S. wanted to
help Bangladesh in utilising its natural resources better for economic
benefit.

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