Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC
DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR COLEMAN: Thank you, Dan, and the entire CSIS team for convening us today. Foreign Minister Momen—it’s great to be with you again to reflect on 50 years of the U.S.-Bangladesh partnership.
As President Biden said at last year’s East Asia Summit, the United States envisions an Indo-Pacific that is open, connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure. A key part of this vision is a renewed commitment to and greater investment in our longstanding alliances in the region—and in Bangladesh, the United States has not only an ally, but a strategic partner committed to addressing the world’s most pressing challenges together.
In 50 years, Bangladesh has made enormous strides in improving the lives of its people and unlocking opportunities for growth, achieving what only a handful of countries have worldwide and paving the way to graduate from LDC status in 2026.
With more than $7 billion in development assistance from the American people, Bangladesh has lifted hundreds of thousands of farmers out of poverty, improving agricultural productivity and food security.
You’ve empowered women to join the workforce, provide for their families, and help grow the economy. And you continue to strengthen health systems nationwide, with a heightened focus in rural and underserved areas.
USAID’s partnerships with the Government and the people of Bangladesh have paid dividends. Since independence, rice production has almost quadrupled thanks to the increased access to agricultural inputs, advances in microfinancing and storage capacity, and the introduction of new innovative growing methods.
Together, USAID has worked with the Bangladeshi government to bring electricity to nearly half of its rural population. Newborn and maternal mortality has been slashed by two-thirds since 1990. And in the past two decades, the national poverty rate has been cut in half.
These gains did not come easy, however. Defending and building on them will require a continued commitment to democracy and human rights. And with the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic, a climate crisis, and a refugee crisis, all taking a considerable toll on the country’s people and resources, it can feel at times like an uphill battle.
But the United States and USAID are standing firmly by your side as we begin this new chapter of strategic partnership.
Just last week, the U.S. government announced more than $152 million in additional humanitarian assistance funding for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, which includes support for those affected by the ongoing violence in neighboring Burma, refugees from Burma in Bangladesh, and Bangladeshi host communities. This brings the total amount of humanitarian assistance donated by the United States to more than $1.7 billion since August 2017, the largest of any single donor.
USAID will use its portion of this funding to provide emergency food and nutrition assistance, shelter, safe drinking water, and sanitation and hygiene services to affected communities in both countries. And we’re continuing to deepen our partnership to improve public health, with 61 million doses of vaccines and nearly $140 million to date to support Bangladesh’s fight against the pandemic.
The bottom line is, the resilience and generosity of the Bangladeshi people have given us a prime example of what we can achieve together. I’m looking forward to our discussion, but I just want to thank Foreign Minister Momen again for being a dedicated steward of our partnership.