With the re-election of President George W. Bush, the United States is keen to improve ties with "important" countries such as Bangladesh, a senior US official said here Friday. "The president wants us to look at things that we can do to improve relationships with countries in the world and one of the important countries is Bangladesh," US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Torkel Patterson told a press conference here.
Patterson, visiting for the third time in eight months, said he was in the country to map out Washington's approach to Bangladesh in the next four years.
"In the last four years we have been very busy with the war in Afghanistan and Iraq and the situation in Pakistan - now is the time to think where we can put our brain power and help," he said. "One of the countries may be Bangladesh."
Patterson did not say why Bangladesh was deemed an "important" country but Washington has made it clear that it hopes the South Asian nation will send troops to Iraq.
Bangladesh, the world's third largest Muslim-majority nation, opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq and polls suggest the majority of Bangladeshis oppose the war and view Washington with suspicion.
In his new term in office, Bush wanted to focus on helping countries to achieve stability and gain prosperity, Patterson added.
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