The visit of Lisa Curtis, deputy assistant of US President Donald Trump, has been postponed due to bad weather conditions, which prevented her from boarding the plane en route to Dhaka, a senior foreign ministry official confirmed The Independent yesterday.

“She was scheduled to board the plane in Washington DC. But, due to a flash flood in the US capital, the plane was diverted to Baltimore then to Brussels. And, no other flight was available. So, the trip was postponed,” said the senior diplomat, adding, “We are expecting a new date in the near future.”

Curtis, also a senior director for south and central Asia at the US National Security Council that advises and assists the president on national security and foreign policy matters, was due to arrive this morning on a two-day visit. This would have

been the second high-level visit by a US official after the US assistant trade representative’s trip to Dhaka in May to attend the TICFA meeting and review of Sustainability Compact.

The visit was expected to provide an idea as to how Washington will engage with Dhaka under the new administration that took office on January 20, according to diplomatic sources.

“It’s a kind of familiarisation trip, which would have let Bangladesh get an idea about the approach of the Trump administration towards Bangladesh. At the same, we would have been able to convey our perspective about the relationship,” a source said.

Aside from holding bilateral talks with Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, she was due to meet, among others, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali.

All the bilateral issues especially cooperation in combating terrorism and violent extremism and Bangladesh’s demand to repatriate killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were expected to be discussed during these meetings.