‘Boeing will not disappoint Bangladesh,’ Trump tells Tarique Rahman
Collected Photo
US President Donald Trump has expressed his view that Boeing will not disappoint Bangladesh. He made the remarks in a message sent to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. Trump also expressed his expectation of meeting Prime Minister Tarique Rahman soon.
Despite going through various challenges, he believes Bangladesh and its people have a bright future under the leadership of Tarique Rahman. The US president also conveyed his warm greetings and love to the people of Bangladesh.
Thanking Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for the decision to purchase Boeing aircraft, the US president said Boeing will not disappoint Bangladesh. He also said he would not forget the prime minister's attention to the matter.
On Sunday night, US Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs and Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said in an X post that Bangladesh had agreed to purchase more Boeing aircraft from the United States as part of a new agreement. Sergio Gor also said that an “unprecedented deal” had been reached this week between US President Donald Trump and Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman over Boeing purchases. One day after the US special envoy disclosed the information, the US president sent a letter to the prime minister of Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, asked about the tweet by US Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs Sergio Gor regarding Bangladesh's purchase of Boeing aircraft from the United States, Foreign Affairs State Minister Humayun Kabir said Tuesday, “We are maintaining a balance in Bangladesh's relations with the United States and China. We have very good relations with Washington. At the same time, we also have good relations with Beijing. We are maintaining an excellent balance in our foreign relations.”
“Among the countries with which we have bilateral relations, the United States is one of our major development partners. We will further increase trade and investment with them,” he added.
Highlighting the need to expand Bangladesh's aircraft fleet, the state minister said, “We want to develop Bangladesh as an aviation hub in Asia. To become an important gateway to the region, we need to provide services on more routes. For that, we need a larger aircraft fleet.”
Citing Ethiopian Airlines as an example, he said, “They have more than 150 aircraft in their fleet. But we need 70 to 80 or more aircraft over the next 10 to 15 years.”
Asked whether a decision had been made on which type of aircraft to purchase, Boeing or Airbus, Humayun Kabir said, “According to our needs, we have made a policy decision that we will purchase Boeing aircraft.”
Asked whether the decision was made due to any pressure, he said, “No, it is not due to any pressure. It is being done according to the needs of our aviation sector. Bangladesh does not have the aircraft fleet we need. We have to increase our fleet capacity. Otherwise, we will not be able to launch new routes and will lose business.”
Highlighting the need to purchase aircraft in the long term, the foreign affairs state minister said, “To increase revenue and passenger numbers as an aviation hub, we must purchase aircraft in the long term. We will continue purchasing according to our needs and our capacity to buy.”
Humayun Kabir said, “We have to meet the needs of our aviation sector, ensure passenger services and develop Bangladesh as an aviation hub for routes to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and beyond.”
