After a sweeping victory in the 13th National Parliamentary Elections, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Tarique Rahman, in a press conference, said that Bangladesh's foreign policy will prioritise the country's interests over others.
"The interests of Bangladesh and its people will determine our foreign policy," he said as a response to a question on ties with India.
"Freedom loving pro-democracy people of the country have once again brought victory to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party," he said in English, before switching to Bangla.
"We have cleared ourselves regarding the foreign policy which is in the interest of Bangladesh, and the interest of the Bangladeshi people comes first. By protecting the interest of Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi people, we will decide our foreign policy," Rahman said.
Answering how the government would approach international relations, senior BNP leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said that the party would stick to multilateralism and not go after a country-centric approach.
That being said, Rahman's "Bangladesh First" policy aims to balance ties with neighbouring countries like India, China and Pakistan.
The BNP leadership also highlighted how important safeguarding sovereignty, ensuring strategic autonomy and mutual respect would be to shape foreign relations.
Humayun Kabir, who handles international relations for Rahman and is set to be a key official in the new regime, said the priority is to build a "stronger cooperation among our people".
He said India will be one of the countries that "we will visit", though he did not give a definite time.
"Obviously there are certain domestic priorities and then international engagements. Of course India will be one of the countries that we will visit, among other countries in the region," Kabir told NDTV.
India views the return of an elected leadership as an "opportune moment" to repair setbacks inflicted on the relationship. The focus now shifts to BNP's acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, whom Indian officials describe as someone they are "cautiously optimistic" about.
That optimism was reflected in the swift outreach from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who posted on X that he was "delighted to speak" with Rahman and congratulated him on the "remarkable victory" in the elections. PM Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to peace, progress, and prosperity for both nations, emphasising the deep historical and cultural ties that bind the neighbours.
The BNP won 212 seats, compared with 77 for the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, per the Electoral Commission.
