Foreign relations of Bangladesh

The foreign relations of Bangladesh are Bangladesh's relationships with foreign countries. The Government of Bangladesh's policies pursue a moderate foreign policy that heavily relies on multilateral diplomacy, especially at the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh has stressed its principle of "Friendship towards all, malice towards none" in dictating its diplomacy. As a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, Bangladesh has tended to not take sides with major powers. Since the end of the Cold War, Bangladesh has pursued better relations with its neighbours and other nearby states.

The Bangladeshi government has begun to implement a foreign policy that pursues regional economic integration in South Asia and aims to establish Bangladesh as a regional hub of transit trade in Asia.

Policy
The foreign policy of Bangladesh consists of various strategies chosen by the Constitution and government of the country to safeguard its national interests and to achieve goals from its place on the world stage. The Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs formulates and executes the policies according to the guidance from the relevant section of the Constitution of Bangladesh.

The fundamental foreign policies of Bangladesh originate from Article 25 of the Constitution of Bangladesh:

"The State shall base its international relations on the principles of respect for national sovereignty and equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, peaceful settlements of international disputes, and respect for international law and the principles enunciated in the United Nations Charter, and on the basis of those principles shall-
 * Strive for the renunciation of the use of force in international relations and for general and complete disarmament;
 * Uphold the right of every people freely to determine and build up its own social, economic and political system by ways and means of its own free choice; and
 * Support oppressed peoples throughout the world waging a just struggle against imperialism, colonialism or racialism."

Commonwealth of Nations
Bangladesh, which was part of the British Raj until 1947, joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1972 after its establishment as an independent nation in 1971 from Pakistan. It has actively participated in the Heads of Government conferences that take place bi-annually.

United Nations
Bangladesh was admitted to the United Nations in 1974 and was elected to a Security Council term in 1978–1980 and again for a 2000–2002 term. Foreign Minister Mr. Humayun Rasheed Choudhury served as president of the 41st UN General Assembly in 1986.

In recent years, Bangladesh has played a significant role in international peacekeeping operations. In 2021, nearly 10,000 Bangladeshi military personnel were deployed overseas on peacekeeping operations, making it the single largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping forces. Under UN auspices, Bangladeshi troops have historically served inSomalia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Kuwait, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Haiti, and units are currently serving in Kuwait and East Timor. For example, Bangladesh responded quickly to US President Bill Clinton's 1994 request for troops and police as part of the multinational intervention to restore democracy in Haiti and provided the largest non-US contingent. As of December 2021, Bangladesh is the largest provider of UN peacekeeping troops with 6,608 personnel, followed by Rwanda with 6,335 personnel.

Non-Aligned Movement
Bangladesh was selected to provide the next chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at the organization's 2001 summit, scheduled to take place in Dhaka. However, it was later decided to host the summit at an alternative venue. As a member of the Non-aligned Movement, Bangladesh has adopted a principle of staying neutral in the affairs of the great powers. However, it parted from this principle by voting against North Korea at the United Nations in December 2008, under pressure from Japan.

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
See also OIC role in Pakistan-Bangladesh relationship

In 1974, then Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led a Bangladeshi delegation team consisting Kamal Hossain, Enayet Karim, Ataur Rahman Khan, Taheruddin Thakur, Tofail Ahmed, and Shah Azizur Rahman to the international meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC, now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) held in Lahore. Following this, Bangladesh was admitted as a member of OIC. In 1977, President Ziaur Rahman amended the Constitution of Bangladesh, including a clause stating that "the state shall endeavour to consolidate, preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim countries based on Islamic solidarity". Since then, an explicit goal of Bangladeshi foreign policy has been to seek close relations with other Islamic states. In 1980, President Ziaur Rahman was included in a 3-member "Al-Quds" summit committee to attend the summit at Morocco. In 1983, Bangladesh hosted the assembled foreign ministers of the OIC in Dhaka. At the OIC headquarters at Jeddah, Bangladesh is represented in the capacity of one of the Director Generals.

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
The government also pursued the expansion of co-operation among the nations of South Asia, bringing the process, an initiative of former President Ziaur Rahman, through its earliest, most tentative stages to the formal inauguration of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) at a summit of South Asian leaders in Dhaka in December 1985. Bangladesh has served as the chair of SAARC and has participated in a wide range of ongoing SAARC regional activities

Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation which includes South Asian and Southeast Asian nations. The member nations of this group are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal. The organisation focuses on regional cooperation in the sectors of economics, trade, and investment.

Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation
Bangladesh is among the 8 member countries of the Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8). The Developing-8 is an economic alliance consisting of Islamic-majority states which focuses on development in the areas of science and technology, banking, finance, agriculture and rural development, humanitarian development, energy, the environment, health, and finance. On 14 May 2006 in Bali, Indonesia, Bangladesh was the only nation not to sign a preferential trade agreement with the other D-8 states. Bangladesh has been the incumbent chair of the Developing-8 Countries since the organization's tenth summit in Dhaka in April 2021.

Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement
The Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), formerly known as the Bangkok Agreement, was signed in 1975 under one of the major initiatives taken by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Seven participating states, Bangladesh, the People's Republic of China, India, Laos, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and Sri Lanka are party to the APTA. In 2005, Bangladesh signed the APTA agreement in order to enable it to reduce trade deficits between itself and other nations such as China, South Korea, and its neighbour India. The total APTA market includes around 2.9 billion people and, as the of the fiscal year (FY) 2015–2016, a gross domestic product (GDP) of around $14.6 trillion USD. APTA's primary objective is to hasten economic development among the seven participating states by encouraging trade and investment liberalisation measures that will contribute to intra-regional trade. In turn, the APTA intends for this to lead to the strengthening of regional economies via through the flow of goods and services, synchronised investment regimes, and free flows of technology, with the end goal of converting all parties into modernized, high-income economies. Another aspect of the agreement is for each member state to be given duty-free access to the products of other member states.

World Trade Organization
Bangladesh is an active member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Bangladesh has had a permanent mission in Geneva to look after matters relating to multilateral trading system under the WTO regime since the mid-1990s.

World Customs Organization
Bangladesh is an active member of the World Customs Organization (WCO). Bangladesh has a permanent representative to the WCO, which has its headquarters in Brussels.

Like Minded Group
Bangladesh has formed an alliance with nineteen other developing countries to vote as a bloc in organisations such as the WTO and the United Nations.

Other
The government has participated in numerous international conferences, especially those dealing with population, food, development, and women's issues. In 1982–83, Bangladesh played a constructive role as chairman of the "Group of 77", an informal association encompassing most of the world's developing nations. It has taken a leading role in the "Group of 48", another association of developing countries. Aside from the groups detailed previously, Bangladesh also participates in the following international organisations: ARF, AsDB, CP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, SACEP, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, and OPCW.

Diplomatic relations
List of countries which Bangladesh maintains diplomatic relations with:

Bangladesh has established official diplomatic relations with most of the members of United Nations as well as some non-UN members like Palestine. Relations with these nations are largely cordial except for some bilateral disputes with Myanmar and Pakistan. Issues with India stem from Teesta and other river water sharing and border killings. Bangladesh puts deep emphasis on relations with China and the United States as China is the largest military supplier to Bangladesh while the US is one of the largest export markets for Bangladeshi products. In recent years, the relations with Russia also became influential because of the Russian loan and technical assistance on military modernisation and the first ever nuclear power plant project of Bangladesh. The bilateral relations of Bangladesh are mainly based on trade activities. However, with certain countries, the relations expand to other areas such as military co-operation, cultural exchange, etc.

South Asia
Bangladesh maintains friendly relations with Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka,Pakistan, and India. It strongly opposed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Bangladesh and Nepal have agreed to facilitate land transit between the two countries.

Western Asia (Middle East)
During the Bangladesh Liberation War, the majority of conservative Arab nations were against Bangladeshi liberation because India, a largely non-Muslim nation, was supporting the break-up of a Pakistan, an Islamic country. However, non-Arab Islamic nations such as Indonesia and Turkiye established relations quickly. At the present, Bangladesh maintains relations with the Middle East through many areas such as commerce, history, military, and most importantly religious ties which enabled the two to co-operate more easily than with Western or Far Eastern partners. Bangladesh supplies over one million guest workers to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and other Gulf states. In turn, most of Bangladesh's oil is imported from this region. Islamic countries and charities provide economic aid usually to advance the Islamic agenda, including funding mosques and madrassas.

During the Yom Kippur War, Bangladesh supported the Arabs and Palestinians and sent a medical team and relief supply, which was appreciated. In return, they enabled Bangladesh to become a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at the Algiers Summit in 1973 and pressured Pakistan into recognising Bangladesh to get Mujib to go to the 1974 OIC Summit in Lahore, as he stated that was his only condition.

Bangladesh also took an active part in trying to broker a ceasefire between Iran and Iraq during their eight-year war as a member of the United Nations Security Council and participating in the UNIIMOG mission, of which it became Acting Head in the last few years before withdrawal. It later helped them to be elected into the OIC Peace Committee.

Bangladesh strongly opposed the Israeli bombardment of South Lebanon which killed approximately 1,191 civilians and described it as "State Terrorism" and a double standard conflict, saying that a non-western nation would have been labelled a terrorist and a western nation would have never been deemed a terrorist. It also contributed to the peacekeeping effort after the 2006 Lebanon War by sending in battalions of infantry.

Africa
Bangladesh's presence in Africa is mostly due to their large contribution to the peacekeeping forces present around the continent such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Sudan (Darfur) and Somalia. Bangladesh can foster ties based on its history such as nations in Southeast Africa where there is a South Asian population (whose ancestors immigrated there during the British Empire). In countries such as Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone, Bangladeshi peacekeepers have been honoured. It is currently trying to increase ties with the southern economic bloc in Southern Africa with nations such as Zimbabwe.

Europe
European countries provide significant economic assistance to Bangladesh. Scandinavian countries contribute a greater percentage of their GDP to this aid than the rest of Europe does. Europe is the top export destination for Bangladeshi products (53% in 2021). Textiles make up 97% of these exports, followed by agricultural products, particularly shrimp.

India

 * Sharing the water of the Teesta
 * Ganges Barrage Project
 * Border killings of Bangladeshi civilians

Myanmar

 * Steps to repatriate Rohingya people refugees who fled from Rakhine State.

Allies
Bangladesh maintains a foreign policy that dictates friendship to all malice to none. So, a black and white approach to identify allies and enemies in case of Bangladesh is not really an appropriate approach. Still Bangladesh has notable extra ordinary good relations with some countries. A few example should include relations with India, China, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, Malaysia, and South Korea.

Bangladesh does not really have problematic relations with any country. However, Bangladesh has a decades long border dispute and water sharing disagreement with India. Some level of solutions came in 2015 as to border issues as both countries agreed to co-operate more and maintain friendly ties but the water sharing issue remains unsolved. In addition, following Rohingyas refugees flow especially after 2017 Bangladesh seems to experience difficult relations with Myanmar, however skillful diplomacy on behalf of Bangladesh hold it from getting worse. As the Rohingya issue remains unsolved, it signals a warning for the future.