US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who came to Dhaka on June 19, requested the government to make appropriate judgement on deployment of Bangladesh troops in Iraq under UNSC resolution 1483.

"We've not arrived at any decision yet. It is (resolution) still under careful scrutiny," Foreign Secretary Shamser Mobin Chowdhury told this week's news briefing at the foreign office yesterday.

He said the government is considering the recent statement of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that UN currently did not have the capacity to send security forces to Iraq.

Asked how much time the government might require to take decision on the matter, the foreign secretary said: "It's not an easy decision... one should not rush."

He, however, said Bangladesh very soon would be sending more than 1200 military personnel as peacekeepers to Congo under the UN.

Asked about Amnesty International's request to Bang-ladesh not to sign any agreement with the US regarding exemption of US citizens from any offences, including war crimes, Chowdhury said Bangladesh is not a state party to the International Criminal Court (ICC), but the US proposal in this regard is under study.

"It (the US proposal) is very much under microscope... we're studying all aspects to see whether it tantamounts to violation of human rights or not," he said, adding that some 40 countries, including five from South Asia, signed agreements with the USA.

Asked about the government efforts to exclude Bangladesh from the list of strict US immigration procedure, the foreign secretary said it is high on the agenda of government policy and would remain so. He, however, said that handling of Bangladeshis in USA has been distinctly different despite being put on the list.

Chowdhury also mentioned that a new immigration system planned by the US immigration department would cover all the countries of the world.

About entering into another trade agreement with USA that would require recognition of Israel as a condition as envisaged in a bill introduced in the US Senate, he said it is still a draft bill pending with the Senate.

The foreign secretary said Bangladesh wants to have an increased access into the US readymade garments market bilaterally and find a proper mechanism for that.