State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said the Bangladesh government is persistently working to consolidate relations with neighbours for regional stability, shared prosperity, and mutual development. Speaking as the chief guest at a seminar, he emphasised strengthening bilateral relations with neighbours through promoting partnership and cooperation, increasing trade and commerce, pursuing cooperation in the water and power sector, enhancing connectivity, collaborating on capacity building for people-to-people contact and underscored the importance of humanitarian assistance to demonstrate soft power. Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) organised the seminar on ‘Strengthening Bangladesh’s Foreign Relations with Neighbours in the Evolving Global Order’ The State Minister Bangladesh’s principal foreign policy – friendship to all, malice towards none- will remain intact whatever the global order is shifting towards. Read more: Pilot project of Rohingya repatriation to be executed at an early date, hopes Shahriar “Our principal position - friendship to all, malice towards none- will remain intact, no matter what happens,” he said. The state minister said that Bangladesh would also never compromise in the areas of its founding principles - nationalism, socialism, democracy and secularism. “Keeping those intact, Bangladesh will continue its resources … we have large Bangladeshi diaspora .. we do have, of course, some soft power,” he said. Alam said Bangladesh would continue to expand its relationship that has already established as a good neighbour in its neighbourhood. “We (also) hope that our neighbours will try to reciprocate that with best of their ability,” he said adding that these are more relevant when the world is undergoing a complex situation condition  

Japan will have a stronger cooperation with Bangladesh, especially for enhancing regional stability and connectivity in the region, as the development of Bangladesh contributes to the stability of Indo-Pacific region, says a senior official at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) pledged on Sunday to further strengthen defense cooperation to safeguard regional stability.