US ambassador to Bangladesh, Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat yesterday said the countries which have issued travel alert, have reliable information regarding more attacks on foreigners.
“The threats remain real. So our governments have announced travel alerts, which is obligatory as per the rules of our respective countries,” Bernicat said.
She was talking to reporters after a meeting between the home minister and ambassadors of four countries.
Apart from the US ambassador, UK high commissioner Robert W Gibson, Canadian high commissioner Benoît-Pierre Laramée and Australian high commissioner Greg Wilcock met the home minister at his secretariat office.
When asked, why they are not disclosing information they have gathered regarding such threats to foreigners, the US ambassador replied, "It can't be shared."
“We're grateful to the government for ensuring security of foreigners, and we want to remain vigilant,” Bernicat said.
The US envoy further said her country has not prevented its citizens from making any investment in Bangladesh or getting involved in any kind of business in the country.
Regarding travel alerts, Bernicat said, “We've some legal obligations to keep our citizens safe. Hence, travel advices are issued from time to time. They are not meant to discourage people from visiting Bangladesh.”
“We must work with you and your government to keep our citizens safe from security threats,” she added.
Meanwhile, talking to the media regarding the meeting home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the four ambassadors have expressed their concern over security, but they have not given any specific information.
He said that the ambassadors said they are happy and grateful to the government for ensuring the safety of foreigners working in Bangladesh, in spite of the security threats.
A two-hour-long meeting was held yesterday between the home minister and US ambassador Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, UK high commissioner Robert W Gibson, Canadian high commissioner Benoît-Pierre Laramée and Australian high commissioner Greg Wilcock at the Secretariat. “We’ve discussed various issues, including the country’s law and order situation, and also the security arrangements for foreigners working in Bangladesh. The ambassadors are happy about the security arrangements here,” the minister told reporters after the meeting.
He said police supers of remote districts have been directed to tighten security for the foreign nationals working in those places. He also said that the ambassadors were told that Bangladesh did not find Islamic State or any other militant group’s connection with the killing of two foreign nationals. He further said that the ambassadors were requested to share information, if they have any, regarding the murders or any other security threats. He assured the ambassadors that the mystery behind the murders will be resolved as soon as possible.
Despite the government’s strict security measures for all foreigners in Bangladesh, the US and the UK have recently issued repeated security alerts for their citizens, citing credible information of possible terrorist attacks following the murder of two foreigners in Dhaka and Rangpur.
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Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.
Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.