No pressure behind additional Boeing purchase: State Minister Humaiun
Dhaka: State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on September 1 has ruled out any pressure from the United States to purchase additional Boeing aircraft and said Bangladesh’s approach is demand-driven.
“No, not under any pressure but as per the demand of the aviation sector. We will buy additional aircraft according to our needs,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when asked about the purchase of additional Boeing aircraft from the United States.
US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia and Ambassador to India Sergio Gor recently said Bangladesh had committed billions of dollars to purchase additional Boeing aircraft from the United States under a new deal between Dhaka and Washington.
“Just this week, President Trump and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh (Tarique Rahman) made another incredible deal, with Bangladesh committing to spend billions of dollars to buy more Boeing aircraft, significantly increasing their initial order,” Gor said in a social media post on the night of August 30.
“Bangladesh, being an important aviation gateway—aviation hub—in Asia, needs to service more routes. For that, we need a bigger fleet,” State Minister Kobir said.
He said expanding the fleet and widening the country’s route network would be important for increasing revenue and developing Bangladesh into an aviation hub in the long term.
Citing the growth of major airlines, including Ethiopian Airlines, as an example, he said fleet expansion could help Bangladesh develop a stronger international aviation network.
“We need to increase our fleet capacity. Otherwise, we cannot open up new routes,” he said.
In April, Bangladesh signed a deal with US aircraft manufacturer Boeing to purchase 14 aircraft for its national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines. The deal, valued at USD 3.7 billion, marked the airline’s biggest-ever aircraft order.
Gor visited Bangladesh from July 30 to August 1 and met with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman to discuss the political and economic dynamics shaping Bangladesh-US relations.
