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Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s inaugural foreign tour since assuming office has successfully projected Bangladesh’s sovereign dignity and established a balanced diplomatic posture on the global stage, Press Adviser Mahdi Amin stated on Tuesday. Speaking at a press briefing in the Chinese city of Dalian, the adviser emphasized that the administration’s foreign policy is firmly rooted in the principles of equality, fairness, and mutual respect, which has elicited warm and high-level receptions from both Malaysia and China.
The Prime Minister is currently in Dalian attending the annual “Summer Davos” summit organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Following his engagements at the summit, the Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Thursday to commence his first official bilateral visit to China, marking a crucial milestone in Dhaka-Beijing relations. This follows a two-day official visit to Malaysia from June 21 to 22, which served as the first leg of his multi-nation tour.
Detailing the reception in China, Mahdi Amin informed reporters that a high-level Chinese government delegation received the Prime Minister with formal red-carpet honors upon his arrival on Monday. The Prime Minister was escorted to his residence with a comprehensive state motorcade, protocol, and stringent security measures, reflecting the significant importance Beijing attaches to the visit. Throughout his stay in Dalian, the Prime Minister has been actively engaged in high-level multilateral discussions aimed at securing Bangladesh’s strategic and economic interests.
The adviser noted that the ongoing tour builds on the momentum generated during the initial leg in Malaysia. Despite a compressed timeline in Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman engaged in substantive, productive dialogue with the Malaysian Prime Minister, the King, and other senior leadership. Those discussions focused heavily on bilateral cooperation, regional security, and economic partnerships beneficial to Bangladesh.
A central pillar of the Prime Minister’s economic agenda during this tour is positioning Bangladesh as an attractive, stable, and highly competitive destination for foreign direct investment. During a courtesy call by WEF President and Chief Executive Officer Alois Zwinggi, discussions focused on how Bangladesh’s democratic framework can be leveraged to foster a trustworthy business climate. The WEF leadership commended the government’s recent policy initiatives aimed at accelerating economic development, generating sustainable employment, and streamlining regulatory processes for international investors.
Addressing the global challenge of environmental degradation, the Prime Minister delivered a speech on Tuesday evening at a WEF session titled “Climate Leadership in a Shifting Global Landscape.” The adviser stated that the invitation to address this forum serves as international recognition of the government’s climate resilience strategies.
In his address to global leaders, the Prime Minister outlined a comprehensive, manifesto-driven climate action plan for the next five years. Key targets highlighted in the presentation include the excavation and restoration of 20,000 kilometers of rivers and canals to mitigate flooding and improve irrigation. The plan also emphasizes structural water management reforms in the critical Padma and Teesta river basins, alongside a massive afforestation campaign involving the planting of 250 million trees nationwide.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister underscored Bangladesh’s transition toward a green economy. This includes revitalizing the domestic jute sector to provide biodegradable alternatives to plastics, introducing environmentally friendly electric vehicles into the national transport grid, and scaling up the country’s renewable energy capacity to comprise 20 percent of the total energy mix.
The adviser concluded that the state honors and formal protocols extended to the Prime Minister during this tour reflect a renewed global trust in Bangladesh’s leadership. The engagements at the World Economic Forum are expected to open new avenues for international trade, technological transfer, and capital investment, strengthening Bangladesh’s geopolitical and economic standing.