No reason to get US sanction afresh: Momen

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today said there is no reason for the US to impose sanctions on Bangladesh afresh.

“We don’t have any idea about new sanctions as it depends on individual country,” he told reporters at a media briefing at the foreign ministry here.

He said if any new US sanction would be imposed it would be unfortunate.”We hope good sense will prevail,” he added.

The briefing was arranged to brief the media on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Qatar visit that begins on Monday afternoon. Foreign ministry’s Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin, among others, was present.

On Sunday night, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly protested and condemned part of a media report of a daily newspaper terming it “false and baseless” and it was done with an “ulterior motive.”

The foreign minister said that he had never worked as a Chinese firm lobbyist before becoming a minister.

Rather, he said, he stayed in the USA and worked there. “This is something very strange (media report).”

“It was very strange and surprising. No reference (source) is mentioned” Momen said regarding the media report that claimed that new sanctions are coming.

Referring to the news published in the ‘Daily Kalbela’ titled “US Sanctions Coming, Government Remains Ready”, the MoFA on Sunday night said in a part of the news, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen was defamed.

The report mentioned that Dr Momen worked as a lobbyist for a Chinese organization before becoming a minister. “It is completely false and baseless,” MoFA said in a media release.

Through such lies in the name of AK Abdul Momen, the image of the government has been tarnished along with his defamation, MoFA said.