Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said that the country maintained a non-aligned and balanced foreign policy and it would decide what to do following those principles.
“We’re an independent and sovereign state. We decide our foreign policy. But yes, any country can uphold its position,” Dr Momen told reporters.
This comes in the backdrop of China warning Bangladesh against any form of participation in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, better known as Quad, saying that it would “substantially damage” the bilateral relations between the two countries.
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The Bangladesh foreign minister made the remarks when asked about the Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming’s remarks on Quad and Bangladesh.
“Naturally, he [ambassador] represents a country. They can say what they want. Maybe they don’t want it [Bangladesh’s joining Quad],” Dr Momen said.
“The comment has been an advanced one,” said the Bangladesh foreign minister, adding that no one from the US-led organisation had approached Bangladesh yet.
Dr Momen further said that Bangladesh was guided by its principled position and would decide following the foreign policy principles considering the interest of people and the country. “We’ll continue to do it [maintaining a non-aligned and balanced foreign policy],” Dr Momen added. “What he [ambassador] said it’s fine. We’ve nothing to say about it,” Dr Momen said.
CHINESE ENVOY WARNS BANGLADESH AGAINST PARTICIPATING IN QUAD
Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming on Monday said Bangladesh’s relations with China will “substantially get damaged” if Bangladesh joined Quad, a US-led initiative.
The Chinese envoy said it would not be a good idea for Bangladesh to participate in this “small group of countries”. “So, we don’t like to see any form of participation by Bangladesh to this small group of countries,” said Ambassador Li.
He termed “Quad” a military alliance aimed against China’s resurgence and its relationship with its neighbouring countries.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, is an informal strategic alliance of the US, India, Japan and Australia.
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