Trump nominee vows support for Bangladesh polls
US Ambassador nominee Brent Christensen told senators on Thursday that Bangladeshis will vote early next year in elections he described as highly significant for the nation. The Virginia diplomat said Washington backs the South Asian country’s democratic transition after student protests ended 15 years of government control in August 2024. Christensen previously worked at the Dhaka embassy from 2019 to 2021 and handled Bangladesh policy matters for two decades across various State Department roles. The career foreign service officer pledged to strengthen economic ties and address trade imbalances if confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Bangladesh ranks eighth globally by population and approaches graduation from least developed status despite regional challenges. The country hosts 1.3 million Rohingya refugees near Cox’s Bazar after violence forced them from Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Christensen said American funding for refugee assistance cannot continue at current levels and urged other nations to increase contributions. The diplomat emphasized Bangladesh’s importance to Indo-Pacific security and noted that Chinese involvement in constructing a submarine facility at Pekua raised defense concerns among lawmakers.
