Dhaka, July 6 -- South Asia affairs expert Michael Kugelman has said the Trump administration has drastically cut foreign aid and has "little interest" in devoting resources to democracy promotion or nation-building in Bangladesh.

Referring to recent telephone conversations between Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Kugelman said the readouts of the Yunus-Rubio call from both governments suggest Washington now views its ties with Dhaka through the lenses of trade and great-power competition.

Kugelman in Foreign Policy's South Asia Brief mentioned that the pair spoke about strengthening economic ties and partnering on enhancing security in the Indo-Pacific-the latter of which, for the United States, ...