Dhaka Bureau: US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu arrived in Dhaka an hour after the scheduled time. He landed at Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) International Airport in Dhaka at around 7:30 pm on Saturday (January 14) on a two-day visit.
It has been reported that US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu will hold official-private meetings during the two-day visit. He is scheduled to have a courtesy call on Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and a bilateral meeting with Foreign Secretary Masood Bin Momen on Sunday.
In Bangladesh, Lu will meet with high-level officials and civil society representatives to strengthen bilateral ties, discuss expanding economic engagement, and hear perspectives on labor and human rights, according to a media note from the US foreign ministry announcing Lu’s visit. Lu will discuss priority issues including energy, trade, security cooperation, religious freedom, labor rights and human rights at various levels in Bangladesh. However, when asked about the significant aspects of Lu’s visit, a high-level diplomat in Dhaka said, “Everything about this visit is significant.”
Incidentally, Donald Lu joined the US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs as Assistant Secretary of State on September 15, 2021. Prior to assuming this position, Lou served as the United States Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic from 2018 to 2021 and to Albania from 2015 to 2018. Prior to his appointment as ambassador to Albania, Lu served in West Africa as the deputy response coordinator for the U.S. Ebola response. Working under the US Government for more than 30 years as a Foreign Service Officer.
He served as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in India (2010-2013) and Charge the Affairs (2009-2010), DCM in Azerbaijan (2007-2009) and DCM in Kyrgyzstan (2003-2006). He began his career as Deputy Director of the Central Asia and South Caucasus Bureau, Bureau of European Affairs (2001-2003), Special Assistant to the Ambassador for Newly Independent States under the Office of the Secretary of State (2000-2001), Political Officer in New Delhi, India (1997-2000), based in New Delhi, India. Served as Special Assistant to the Ambassador (1996-1997), Consular Officer in Tbilisi, Georgia (1994-96) and Political Officer in Peshawar, Pakistan (1992-1994).
He also helped restore hand-dug water wells and provide health education and construction of latrines while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa, 1988-1990. Lou hails from Huntington Beach, California. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international relations from Princeton University. He knows Albanian, Russian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, Urdu, Hindi and West African verbs.
