Chief Advisor Prof. Muhammad Yunus and USAID Administrator Samantha Power have talked about a variety of topics to strengthen Bangladesh-USA cooperation.

Specifically, they talked about working together in the fields of youth, justice, energy, and transportation.

On the fringes of the UN General Assembly, the meeting took place on Wednesday (US time).

In order to meet the needs of Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh and the surrounding area, the US announced on Tuesday that it would be providing an additional over $199 million in humanitarian aid. Of this amount, over $129 million would come from USAID and nearly $70 million would come from the US Department of State.

US Department of State Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya announced the funding at a Rohingya-focused event during the UN General Assembly High-level week.

USAID’s assistance includes funding from the bipartisan National Security Supplemental as well as $78 million from the US Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation, which will help to purchase, ship, and distribute approximately 52,200 metric tons of food commodities from American farmers to approximately 610,000 refugees experiencing acute food insecurity in Bangladesh.

It will also support the International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, and the UN World Food Program to provide food, nutrition, and protection assistance to Rohingya refugees and host communities.

The US government has provided more than $2.5 billion for the regional Rohingya response since August 2017, including more than $2.1 billion in Bangladesh.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also met Prof Yunus on Wednesday.

They discussed areas of work of mutual interest in Bangladesh towards securing justice, freedom, and human rights.

Turk lauded the Interim Government’s continuing reform initiatives.