Ambassador Miller attended International Women’s Day events at the American Corner in Chattogram, the Asian University for Women, and the Amin Colony. He also attended the closing ceremony of a U.S.-UK-Bangladesh military exchange promoting cooperation and understanding.
DHAKA, March 11, 2020 –Ambassador Earl Miller visited Chattogram March 8-10 to celebrate International Women’s Day and reinforce cultural bonds between the United States and the Bangladeshi people. Ambassador Miller also attended the closing ceremony of a trilateral U.S.-UK-Bangladesh Special Operations exchange to enhance the relationship among the three militaries and promote regional stability.
On March 9, Ambassador Miller visited the Embassy’s American Corner Chittagong located on the campus of Chittagong Independent University (CIU). He and CIU Vice Chancellor Dr. Mahfuzul Hoque Chowdhury joined 40 women students, U.S. exchange alumni, University faculty, and women’s rights activists for an International Women’s Day (IWD) event. Ambassador Miller spoke about this year’s United Nations’ IWD theme “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights” and related achieving the Sustainable Development Goals to supporting a world free of discrimination, prejudice, and inequality. He highlighted one way the United States shows its support by recognizing more than 130 International Women of Courage annually since 2007, including four from Bangladesh.
He also visited Asian University for Women (AUW) where he toured the campus, met with senior faculty, and had lunch with student government representatives and other student leaders. AUW’s over 900 students come from 19 countries across Asia and the Middle East and demonstrate strong academic achievement, extracurricular commitment, and leadership potential.
Ambassador Miller also joined 25 local women and their children for a community screening event organized by Ujjiban at Amin Colony. The USAID-supported Ujjiban partners with local community organizations to encourage increased use of high-quality maternal health, child health, family planning, nutrition, and TB services, and arranges community screening sessions with key messages aimed at reaching vulnerable and disadvantaged groups that don’t have regular access to mass media.
On March 10, Ambassador Miller joined Bangladesh Navy Rear Admiral Mohammed Shaheen Iqbal for the concluding ceremony of the first-ever tripartite Special Operations exchange among the United States, United Kingdom, and Bangladesh. The exchange, which took place from February 16 – March 12, 2020, enhances the relationship among the three military partners and promotes regional stability, vital for the security and stability of the Bay of Bengal and a testament to our three great countries’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Ambassador Miller’s visit to Chattogram is one of the many initiatives of U.S. Embassy Dhaka to promote greater cooperation, dialogue, and mutual understanding between Bangladesh and the United States, encouraging a strong partnership and helping to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region.