BNP to pursue economy-based foreign policy if voted to power: Rahman

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) would pursue an “economy-based foreign policy” if elected to power in the upcoming February 12 general election, the party’s new chairman, Tarique Rahman, has said. “Our foreign policy will be a ‘Bangladesh First’ policy,” the state-run BSS news agency on Wednesday quoted him as saying in an interview with the US-based The Diplomat magazine. He added that if elected to power, “we will

prioritise an economy-based foreign policy that safeguards Bangladesh’s interests”. “We believe in mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual benefit in our foreign relations,” he said. Rahman’s response came as the outlet said that there was criticism that during the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime, there was an “India-oriented foreign policy” while the United States, China and India had their eyes on Bangladesh.

The Diplomat asked him what his foreign policy outlook was, to which the BNP chairman also said, “No matter which countries we engage with, our national interest must come first”. The news outlet on Wednesday carried an analysis on Bangladesh’s February 12 elections predicting Rahman would emerge as the South Asian nation’s next prime minister. The article titled “An Interview With Tarique Rahman, Likely Bangladesh’s Next Prime Minister” referred to several opinion polls ahead of elections, suggesting Rahman to be the next premier as well.