Blinken's policy advisor Chollet arrives

US state department Counselor Derek Chollet, who serves at the rank of Under Secretary as a senior policy advisor to the Secretary of State Antony Blinken, arrived here this evening on a two-day official visit.

Foreign Senior Secretary Masud Bin Momen received Chollet and Counselor to the Administrator at the USAID Clinton White at Hazrat Shahjalal international airport.

During the visit, Chollet will call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and hold separate meetings with foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen, a foreign ministry's press release said.

The purpose of the visit is to strengthen bilateral relations and government-to government ties with an elevated focus on the Rohingya humanitarian response.

Earlier, the office of the spokesperson at the US Department of State said the counselor will discuss the coordination of responding to the Rohingya crisis and the security partnership between the US and Bangladesh during his Dhaka visit.

He will also discuss strengthening Dhaka-Washington cooperation in international fora during his engagement with senior Bangladeshi officials, it added.

The US counselor is leading a seven-member delegation comprising of Clinton White, Counselor of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Elizabeth Horst, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the US Department of State and Beth Van Schaack, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, US state department said.

US ambassador in Dhaka Peter D Haas and US embassy officials are likely to accompany the delegation in the meetings.

The US state department Counselor will leave Dhaka for Pakistan on Wednesday evening.

Chollet conducts special diplomatic assignments as directed by the Secretary of State.