The foreign ministry is preparing for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s upcoming visits to five key destinations – New York, Riyadh, Doha, Tokyo and Antalya in Turkey – as Dhaka seeks to strengthen ties with major partners and advance its national interests.
A senior source familiar with the preparations said these countries are important partners for Bangladesh and that Dhaka wants to engage with them to pursue its national interests.
He said the prime minister is scheduled to leave Dhaka for New York in the third week of September to attend the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. He will also attend the World Leaders’ Summit of COP31 in Antalya on 11-12 November.
A political source said the government is working to finalise suitable schedules for visits to the other three countries. The planned visits are also in line with the BNP’s election manifesto, which pledged to maintain good relations with Gulf, Muslim and East Asian countries.
“We want to maintain good relations with the Gulf, Muslim and East Asian countries. The prime minister has already visited Malaysia, a Muslim country, and China, an East Asian country,” the source said.
Saudi Arabia and Japan have already invited the prime minister for bilateral visits, while the strong personal rapport between the top leaderships of Dhaka and Doha means a visit to Qatar could be arranged at short notice, sources said.
The BNP manifesto pledged to build a strategic partnership with member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), focusing on combining the Gulf countries’ surplus capital with Bangladesh’s productivity and human resources.
The manifesto said such a partnership would seek to increase cooperation in areas including food security, digital transformation, cybersecurity, and military industry and training.
In another section, the manifesto said, “BNP historically had deep relations with Middle Eastern countries and the Muslim world. Sincere efforts will continue to deepen and strengthen relations with the Middle East in international politics.”
The government is facing several domestic challenges, including employment generation, energy and food security, industrialisation and other areas. Bangladesh needs foreign assistance, investment and cooperation to address these challenges, and the planned visits are being organised to strengthen bilateral relations and advance national interests.
About four million Bangladeshis live and work in Saudi Arabia, sending billions of dollars in remittances to the country. Saudi investors have also shown growing interest in Bangladesh.
Saudi company Red Sea Gateway has agreed to invest $170 million and operate the Patenga Container Terminal at Chattogram Port.
Bangladesh also procures liquefied natural gas from Qatar, while a significant number of Bangladeshis work in the country. Dhaka is also seeking greater investment from Doha.
Japan is Bangladesh’s largest development partner and has supported major infrastructure projects, including the metro rail system and the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
“Saudi Arabia, Japan and Qatar are three very important development partners of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a lot of interests and issues with them,” a foreign ministry official said.
Dhaka expects to forge stronger strategic partnerships with the three countries to help address domestic challenges and achieve its national goals, he added.
