US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W Mozena shares US concern with BangladeshFinance Minister AMA Muhith

BANGLADESH NEWS

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W Mozena on Monday conveyed to Finance Minister AMA Muhith his country's concerns about the recent development on Grameen Bank.

After a two-hour meeting with the minister at the secretariat, the ambassador told reporters that he shared with Muhith about America's concerns about some of the recent development centring the microlender.

He said they also talked about Nobel Peace Prize winning Grameen Bank and its importance for the development of Bangladesh.

"We agreed on the importance of sustaining the bank as strong and effective. We agreed on the importance of continuing the unique governance structures for the borrowers' control of the bank," Mozena said.

The ambassador said he discussed with the minister on the need for a strong, internationally recognised and credible new managing director of the lender.

"I was encouraged by the strong support from the minister to keep the bank strong and effective and to have a good, internationally recognised and credible new managing director," he said.

The finance minister declined to talk to the press.

America is a strong supporter of Grameen Bank and Professor Muhammad Yunus, whose resignation from the bank last year has led to vacancy of the managing director post of the microcredit organisation.

The comments from the US ambassador as the government amended the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983, apparently to give more power to the chairman, always appointed by the government, to pick the managing director, sidelining the board of directors, majority of whom comprising of grassroots members of the bank.

On the much-talked Padma bridge project, Mozena said he still hopes a way could be found to proceed with the project with the World Bank financing.

"American has all along strongly supported the Padma bridge. We have been a strong supporter of the bridge," he said.

The ambassador also said negotiations on the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (TICFA) are going on and the deal could be signed at some point.