Bangladesh Will Never Bow to Any Country Again: FM

Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman on Thursday said Bangladesh has moved away from what he described as a submissive foreign policy and will no longer bow to any country.

“We have buried the submissive foreign policy,” he said while responding to a supplementary question from Naogaon-3 lawmaker Md Fazley Houda during the question-answer session in Parliament.

“Thanks to the strong and successful foreign policy pursued by our honourable Prime Minister, we are now standing tall with our heads held high,” Khalilur said.

He said Bangladesh would continue pursuing a foreign policy based on national interests and would not compromise its position before any country.

Referring to the previous Awami League government, the foreign minister alleged that Bangladesh’s foreign policy had not remained fully under its own control during its 15-year rule.

Khalilur also said the government is preparing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for every Bangladesh mission abroad to assess their performance.

“We will place all the relevant information before Parliament when we present the next budget. You have the right to know this information,” he said.

Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty

Replying to another supplementary question from Bagerhat-4 lawmaker Abdul Aleem, the foreign minister said Bangladesh remains committed to securing its fair share of water from common rivers.

He said a team has been formed to prepare a new agreement following the expiry of the Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty, and India has been informed about the initiative.

“We are now waiting for their response,” he said.

Teesta Project

Khalilur said Bangladesh has begun a technical evaluation of the Teesta project with China and will decide on the next steps based on the outcome.

The third session of the current Parliament began at 3:00pm with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad in the chair.

The first hour of the session was devoted to the question-answer segment.