Foreign relations of Bangladesh

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.

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.

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 of the fiscal year (FY) 2015–2016, a gross domestic product (GDP) of around $14.6 trillion USD.

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.

In recent years, 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 in Bangladesh.

In 2014, a binding ruling by a tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration awarded the disputed New Moore island (called South Talpatti by Bangladesh) to India, and demarcated the sea boundary.

[35] Nepal has strong bilateral relations with Bangladesh, as it views the latter nation as a critical access point to the sea, giving it the opportunity to develop potential transit and trade facilities and be less dependent on India and China.

[94] Landmarks in their reconciliation after the two nation's 1971 war: Issues need resolving: Both countries established diplomatic relations on 4 March 1972 when Sri Lanka recognized Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka's first King (to be mentioned in the ancient Pali chronicles) was alleged to have ancestors from the Vanga Kingdom which occupied an area now known as Bangladesh.

Malaysia is the largest ASEAN investor in Bangladesh and Malaysian companies have invested US$1.3 billion in 59 projects in 2007 in areas such as telecommunications, textiles and financial sector.

Many Malaysian companies have shown a keen interest in participation in Bangladeshi infrastructure projects such as power generation, seaport development, waste disposal systems, construction of roads and highways, as well as in the service sector such as education and healthcare.

Malaysia has stated their intentions to continue to contribute to positive efforts in order to promote and expand bilateral relations with Bangladesh, particularly in the trade and investment sectors.

[227] Bangladesh and Malaysia are also both members of the Developing-8, OIC, Commonwealth of Nations, Like Minded Group, and Non-Aligned Movement showing that the two have similar views on regional and international issues.

They seek not to intervene in each other's internal matters as shown by their response to the events occurring in their own respective countries in 2006 such as the 2006 Thai coup d'état and 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis.

Bangladesh also sends a large number of skilled migrant workers to South Korea to work in the following sectors:- construction, manufacture, services, and agriculture, fisheries and livestock.

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.

[citation needed] 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.

A turning point in relations was during the Iraq-Iran War when Bangladesh as a UN Security Council member tried to broker a ceasefire between the nations and settle their disputes with dialogue.

The current president, Hassan Rouhani is looking to strengthen relations with countries in South Asia such as Bangladesh by increasing Iranian investment like building oil refineries.

[257] Bangladesh like other South Asian countries also send workers to Lebanon to work in domestic and manual jobs, although many like those in the Gulf states complain of harsh conditions and low wages.

Since then there have been high level contact such as Yasser Arafat's visits in 1981 and 1987 who was warmly received by both former presidents Ziaur Rahman and Hossain Mohammad Ershad with favourable media coverage.

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).

[268] A business delegation from The Gambia, led by Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment Abdoulie Jobe, visited Bangladesh in December 2014.

Since independence, German churches and numerous non-governmental organisations (NGOs) made tremendous efforts to promote the social and economic development of Bangladesh.

By an agreement between both the government adopted in May 2004, the activities of the GTZ focus on three priority areas such as healthcare including family planning, economic reform and development of the market system through promotion of private sector, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and renewable energies.

German interest in the culture of Bengal dates back to the visits to Germany by the Bengali national poet and Nobel laureate for literature Rabindranath Tagore in the 1920s and 1930s.

Britain also holds the largest open air Asian festival in Europe called Baishakhi Mela, a Bangladeshi event held in London.

In March 2008, Fakhruddin Ahmed had visited Number 10 Downing Street to discuss increasing British investment and co-operation in defence and trade, especially on counter-terrorism and duty-free access for LDCs.