Bangladesh and the United States will have a bilateral meeting in Washington on Thursday which is expected to help take the ties between the two countries to a newer height, said a Foreign Ministry official on Monday.

The entire gamut of bilateral relations and regional and international issues are likely to be discussed at the meeting.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and US Secretary of State John Kerry will lead the respective side at the meeting.

A Foreign Ministry media release, meanwhile, said the foreign minister leaves here for Washington on Tuesday to attend the ‘White House Countering Violent Extremism Summit’ to be held at the US Department of State.

He will lead a three-member delegation to the ministerial component of the summit to be held on 19 February.

Earlier, John Kerry invited the Bangladesh Foreign Minister to attend the summit.

Foreign secretary M Shahidul Haque will accompany the Foreign Minister to both the Ministerial Summit and the bilateral meeting.

This is going to be the Foreign Minister’s first official visit to the USA since taking office. He is expected to return home on the morning of 21 February.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, ministers and high officials from more than 50 countries, and private sector, and civil society representatives will take part in the summit.

The main objective of the summit is to share ideas and experiences among cross sections of actors around the globe towards developing a shared understanding on countering violent extremism.

The White House will host the summit to highlight domestic and international efforts to prevent violent extremists, according to a White House statement.

The conference is taking place for inspiring individuals or groups in the United States and abroad against acts of violence, efforts made even more imperative in light of recent, tragic attacks in Ottawa, Sydney, and Paris.

This summit will build on the strategy the White House released in August of 2011, Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States, the first national strategy to prevent violent extremism domestically.