Bangladesh will never deviate from its principles by leaning towards any country: MoFA
Bangladesh will never deviate from its principle of "friendship to all, malice towards none" by leaning towards a particular country, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Keeping economy and development at the centre, the ministry is working on a framework regarding expectations and priorities related to the Indo-Pacific," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Seheli Sabrin told reporters at a weekly briefing on Thursday (6 April).
Bangladesh will firmly remain committed towards peaceful and prosperous geopolitical chapter, she said.
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"Bangladesh is not leaning towards any side nor deviating from its core policy of friendship to towards all and malice towards none," Sabrin added.
The spokesperson said Bangladesh's priority is its own economic interests promoting development, livelihood and standard of its people.
"There is no doubt that all this depends on free, open and inclusive commercial shipping activities through the Bay of Bengal," she said.
The spokesperson further said Bangladesh, as a littoral country sitting next to the biggest trade routes of the world, is not expected to remain oblivious to the geopolitical development in the seas and connected oceans.
Bangladesh has long pursued a nonaligned foreign policy but it appears to be "moving closer to a full embrace" of the Indo-Pacific Strategy pursued by the US and its partners in the region, which revolves around countering China, according to Foreign Policy's South Asia brief.
Last month, Dhaka finalised a draft of its Indo-Pacific Outlook focused on objectives that mirror those of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, such as the need for a free, secure, and peaceful region, according to Foreign Policy's South Asia brief by Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program and Senior Associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center.
Bangladesh shares the vision for a "free, open, peaceful, secure, and inclusive" Indo-Pacific Region, based on international law and with shared prosperity for all, the spokesperson added.
