DHAKA, Sept 4: Dhaka and Washington have signed an agreement under which no American soldiers and officers guilty of any criminal offences could be tried in Bangladesh or sent to the International Criminal Court for prosecution, the foreign office formally admitted.

The agreement, signed on August 17, stipulates that if any American soldier or officer is charged with criminal offences in Bangladesh territory, Dhaka will not enjoy the right to try him/her in Bangladesh.

Besides, Dhaka will have no right to send any American soldier, visiting Bangladesh, to the International Criminal Court, set up under the Rome Statue in 1998, even if he/she was earlier prosecuted by the Court for committing offences in other countries. In such cases, the accused must be handed over to the US authorities, Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Shamser Mobin Chowdhury admitted to the newsmen on Thursday.

The agreement was signed in Washington on August 17, while Bangladesh Ambassador to Washington Syed Hassan Ahmed and US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca initialled it. The two countries, however, have no extradition treaty, that usually allows exchange of various kinds of offenders.

Replying to a question, the foreign secretary said, “it’s not a secret deal”.

“Some 50 countries around the world, and most of the South Asian countries too, have already signed the agreement,” the foreign secretary added.

He added that India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal had entered into the pact a few months ago, and Bangladesh is the last signatory to it from South Asia.