US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is due to arrive in Bangladesh Saturday at the start of a two-day visit. Bangladeshi foreign ministry officials say Mr. Rumsfeld is likely to ask the government in Dhaka to send troops to Iraq.
A Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry statement issued today (Thursday) says Mr. Rumsfeld is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and Foreign Minister Morshed Khan.
The statement says the U-S and Bangladeshi officials are also expected to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues of common interest.
Secretary Rumsfeld will arrive in Dhaka from Singapore, where he is attending a defense conference that will include discussions of the war on terrorism.