US Ambassador Brent T Christensen on Sunday joined the closing ceremony of “The Art of the Deal: American Excellence in Negotiation Skills” at Hotel Six Seasons in the capital’s Gulshan.

During the event, the ambassador recognised a new generation of Bangladeshi leaders equipped with communication, leadership, and negotiation skills, said a press release.

“You’ve now had a masterclass on negotiation based on insights from one of the very best, and I’m not just saying that because he’s my boss. I’ve got a little side story for you all,” Christensen said.

“So it’s the year 2016. I’m assigned in Washington. I’m working as a diplomatic fellow to our Congress. It’s the 2016 presidential election, and one of my friends from an embassy in Washington invites me out for coffee and says, Brent, we’re wondering, what do we do if Donald Trump wins the presidential election? You know, he’s not a politician. He’s not your traditional candidate. We don’t really know what to expect,” he added.

“And I told him, well, why don’t you go buy a copy of this book and read ‘The Art of the Deal?’ And if you follow that, you’ll know everything you need to know for dealing with Donald Trump if he becomes president. And my friend kind of paused for a minute, and he took a little note, and I think he went and left. I never heard anything more from him,” the ambassador further said.

“But President Trump wins the election. I see that country’s leaders start interacting with the president. I see him following exactly the principles laid out in the book, and they became very, very good friends. So I think the techniques you learned over this course, good enough for multiple heads of state. So you’re in good company right there. But I really hope this class has helped you better understand the American approach to negotiation, based on clear preparation, clear communications, strategic thinking, mutually beneficial partnerships, and as we like to say, just plain common sense,” the ambassador said to the participating youths.

“Successful negotiation is not just about making the deals, although that’s important, don’t get me wrong, but also about building relationships based on trust, solving problems, and creating new opportunities. American businesses overseas need confident leaders that they can work with in foreign countries. It’s really helpful to work with and negotiate against people who understand how we Americans negotiate. I’m hopeful this programme will pave the way for future business-to-business ties, further boosting the US-Bangladesh economic relationship,” Christensen continued.

“Thank you to Joanne, so I’m probably going to butcher your last name, Masseri, and the trainers for putting together the Art of the Deal programme. Thank you to all of our participants for your engagement. I hope you will take away and apply the skills that you’ve learned throughout this course. I also hope that you’ll take the best practices that you learned on successful negotiation and share them with others, your colleagues, your classmates, your community, even if they might someday be sitting across the table using those skills back against you in a tough negotiation. So thank you again to everybody involved and have a great evening,” Christensen concluded.

Supported by a US English Language Specialist, Joanne Munisteri, the four-day programme trained 60 alumni of the Access English programme from Dhaka, Chattogram, and Sylhet.

The curriculum incorporated principles from US President Donald Trump’s “The Art of the Deal” alongside broader American methodologies in negotiation and leadership development.