A meeting between Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and representatives of 25 US companies was highly productive and effective, according to Dr Mahdi Amin, an adviser to the prime minister and spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office. He made the remarks after a US-Bangladesh Business Council delegation met at the Prime Minister’s Office at 9:30am on Thursday.

The meeting discussed Bangladesh-US trade relations and their potential, the report said. Amin said Bangladesh was moving toward a future as a self-reliant and prosperous country. He did not provide details of any agreement, investment commitment, or specific project arising from the discussion.

The delegation was led by Oliver Simpson, senior vice president of the Business Council and chief commercial officer of Excelerate Energy, and Atul Keshap, president for South Asia at the US Chamber of Commerce. Former US ambassador Peter Haas, diplomat Nisha Desai and Business Council members also attended. On August 12, the delegation paid a courtesy call on Humayun Kabir, the prime minister’s foreign affairs adviser.