Optimizing Bangladesh’s National Interest and Foreign Policy: A Strategic Approach

Bangladesh’s national interest and foreign policy are closely intertwined. To effectively structure its foreign policy, it is crucial to identify and prioritize the key elements of national interest. These national interests include:

1. Water Security: Ensuring equitable access to transboundary water resources, including the rivers shared with India and other neighbors, is vital for agriculture, industry, and livelihoods.
2. Democracy: Preserving and promoting democratic values at home and abroad aligns with Bangladesh’s internal governance and its image on the global stage.
3. Development: Economic growth, poverty alleviation, infrastructure development, and sustainable trade relations are essential to uplifting the population and ensuring long-term stability.
4. Repatriation of Rohingya Refugees: Safeguarding the return of the Rohingya to Myanmar in a safe, dignified, and sustainable manner is a top priority, both for humanitarian reasons and national security.
5. Onshore and Offshore Resources: Protecting and optimizing the utilization of natural resources, including energy reserves in the Bay of Bengal and onshore assets, is key to Bangladesh’s economic future and energy independence.

Framework of Foreign Policy

Bangladesh’s foreign policy should be framed around a pragmatic understanding of global relationships, focusing on three categories:

1. Friends: Countries that actively support and advance Bangladesh’s national interests, whether through cooperation in water sharing, democratic engagement, economic development, or assistance with the Rohingya crisis. These countries are strategic partners in development and security.
2. Not a Friend: Countries that do not directly support or hinder Bangladesh’s national interests. While neutral or passive in their relationship, maintaining positive diplomatic engagement with these countries remains important for trade, regional stability, and multilateral cooperation.
3. Enemies: Countries or actors that undermine Bangladesh’s security, sovereignty, or territorial integrity. These countries may pose threats through territorial disputes, hostile actions against Bangladesh’s natural resources, or by destabilizing the region, and should be managed with caution, defensive diplomacy, and strategic partnerships to counterbalance their influence.

In essence, Bangladesh’s foreign policy should be guided by a clear prioritization of national interests. Relations with foreign countries should be defined by their contributions to these interests, with flexible diplomacy being used to foster mutually beneficial alliances, defend national sovereignty, and ensure long-term stability and prosperity.

Syfullah Arif
President
Center for Bangladesh Development
Texas, USA