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Torkel stresses probe progress, graft cut

Staff Correspondent
Visiting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Torkel Patterson yesterday tagged progress in criminal investigations and a cut in corruption to increased economic co-operation between
Bangladesh and the US.
Patterson dismissed reports of US pressure to ensure that only a US company gets the job to develop the Chittagong port. He said the US would like to see anyone, be it US, Japanese, Singaporean or Bangladeshi companies, develop a world-class and modem Chittagong port that is crucial to the region.
"We are trying to find ways to increase economic activity and we can do better... we would like to see
progress in some outstanding inves-tigations into some recent crimes...we would also like to see the level of corruption reduced," said Patterson to reporters after his meeting with Foreign Secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury at the foreign ministry yesterday.
He added that although the government is working hard on both issues, both corruption and law and order have a significant impact on the economy and, effectively, on economic activity between the US and Bangladesh.
He added that he did not have any information about the findings of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the August 21 grenade attacks on Leader of the Opposition and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina.
The foreign secretary told the BBC Bangia Service last night that the discussions with Patterson is part of an ongoing dialogue between the US and Bangladesh and did not focus on any specific issue.
Patterson, meanwhile, said his visit to Bangladesh immediately after the US elections is to work out ways with Bangladesh on how the new ideas and new energy of President Bush can be injected into 'the type of future relationship we like to see with Bangladesh as new administration is in Washington'.
On following up on concerns from his visit in September, Patterson said Bangladesh had taken effective steps to rein in trafficking in persons and this improved its position in the US State Department report on human trafficking.
He also mentioned that both Bangladesh and the US have come to share a perspective to seriously tackle the problem of child and women labour, demonstrated by recent police crackdown on child labourers.
Asked about the impact of the recent $2 billion investment promise from the Indian business giant Tata, Patterson said it was encouraging and a green signal for more foreign investment
About his comments in September that a joint US-Bangladesh working group on counter-terrorism was a good idea, he said no progress has been made in the matter.
Torkel also said he would be going to Chittagong on a three-day trip to see the ship-building industry and during his five-day stay here, he would meet both government and opposition members.