The US wants to rebuild trust with the people of Bangladesh, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu said today.

"Last year, there were a lot of tension between us and Bangladesh. The US worked very hard to promote free, fair and nonviolent elections and it caused the tension. It is common in our relationship," Lu said after a meeting with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud at the foreign ministry.


He said Washington wants to look forward.

"We want to find ways, strengthen our relationship. So, I spoke about working on the hard issues. We have lots of hard issues -- RAB sanction, labour reforms, we have human rights, business climate reforms."

Donald Lu also said that they want to strengthen cooperation on issues of mutual interests.

"We are talking about new investments, enrolling more Bangladeshi students in US universities and how to work on clean energy," he said. The US also wants to support Bangladesh in fighting corruption, hold people accountable for graft, ensure transparency and help widen tax net.Meanwhile, UNB reports Lu had a meeting with Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury and separately discussed bilateral issues with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.

Lu arrived in Dhaka yesterday to "strengthen bilateral cooperation" and to demonstrate US support for a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.