Updated on Tuesday, December 02, 2008, 00:00 IST

Dhaka, Dec 02: Republican senator John McCain, who lost the November 4 US Presidential Election to Barack Obama, will arrive here later Tuesday as part of his broader regional trip to Asia, Foreign Ministry and the US embassy said here today.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that McCain would be accompanied by Senator Joseph Lieberman and Senator Lindsey Graham and would be received by Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury.

"He is expected to arrive Dhaka later today, but we are not in a position to give the details of his visit," a US embassy spokeswomen told reporters.

Both the US embassy and the Foreign Ministry, earlier, said they would meet with government officials, political party leaders and members of civil society to discuss bilateral issues during a less than 24-hour stay in Dhaka.

The three senators are members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, with Senator McCain serving as its Ranking Member.

The foreign relations experts and analysts said the visit is "significant" against the backdrop of the Indo-US nuclear deal and more importantly with regard to US strategic relation with South Asian countries.

"The United States has entered into a new strategic relation with India, keeping an eye on China and South Asian countries and it is likely that McCain and the two other Senate Armed Services Committee members are visiting here to explore how Bangladesh fits in the process," Bangladesh Institute for Peace and Security Studies (BIPS) chief retired major general ANM Muniruzzaman told reporters.

McCain and his wife Cindy have a Bangladesh-born 17-year old adopted daughter.

Bureau Report