Biswal leaves for Colombo

The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal left Dhaka for Colombo, Sri Lanka this noon concluding her three-day visit to Bangladesh.

Prior to her departure, Biswal held an informal meeting with a selected group of editors of newspapers and television channels at the residence of US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, BSS reports.

In a tweet message, the US Secretary of State described her Dhaka visit as "important one" when she "conveyed support & solidarity of United States to stand with Bangladesh in combating terrorism".

"Discussed specifics on how the US proposes to support Bangladeshi law enforcing agencies in response to terrorism," she also tweeted.

The US Secretary of State arrived here on Saturday to discuss "shared concerns" and offered US support to counter terrorism and violent extremism.

During her stay in Dhaka, Biswal had meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, two advisers of the premier and diplomatic community as well.

She also visited the Holey Artisan Bakery where militants killed 22 people including 17 foreigners and two police officers on July 1 where she paid respect to the victims of the July 1 terror attacks.

"We share the grief of our Bangladeshi partners. Our commitment to Bangladesh remains as robust as ever," she said while placing the wreaths on the Holey Artisan Bakery premises yesterday.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Manpreet Anand accompanied Biswal during her Dhaka visit.