Editing Foreign relations of Bangladesh (section)

==Participation in multilateral organisations==

===Commonwealth of Nations===

Bangladesh, which was part of the [[British Raj]] until 1947, joined the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] in 1972 after its establishment as an independent nation in 1971 from Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news |date=19 April 1972 |title=Bangladesh Joins Commonwealth |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QyJlAAAAIBAJ&pg=2861,836382&dq=bangladesh+commonwealth&hl=en |location=Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |newspaper=Edmonton Journal |via=Google News}}</ref> It has actively participated in the Heads of Government conferences that take place bi-annually.

===United Nations===

Bangladesh was admitted to the United Nations in 1974<ref>{{cite news |date=18 September 1974 |title=United Nations: Palestinian Position Becomes Critical Issue |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fL0yAAAAIBAJ&pg=911,549447&dq=bangladesh+united-nations+admit&hl=en |location=Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |newspaper=The Citizen |via=Google News}}</ref> and was elected to a Security Council term in 1978{{ndash}}1980<ref>{{cite news |date=10 November 1978 |title=Bangladesh Elected to Security Council |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3BBPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6969,3906092&dq=bangladesh+united-nations+security-council&hl=en |location=Toledo, Ohio, US |newspaper=Toledo Blade |via=Google News}}</ref> and again for a 2000{{ndash}}2002 term. Foreign Minister Mr. Humayun Rasheed Choudhury served as president of the 41st UN General Assembly in 1986.

In recent years, Bangladesh has played a significant role in international [[peacekeeping]] operations. In 2021, nearly 10,000 Bangladeshi military personnel were deployed overseas on peacekeeping operations, making it the single largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping forces. Under UN auspices, Bangladeshi troops have historically served in [[Somalia]], [[Rwanda]], [[Mozambique]], [[Kuwait]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], and [[Haiti]], and units are currently serving in Kuwait and [[East Timor]]. For example, Bangladesh responded quickly to US President [[Bill Clinton]]'s 1994 request for troops and police as part of the [[Operation Uphold Democracy|multinational intervention to restore democracy in Haiti]] and provided the largest non-US contingent. As of December 2021, Bangladesh is the largest provider of UN peacekeeping troops with 6,608 personnel, followed by [[Rwanda]] with 6,335 personnel.<ref>https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/02-country_ranking_36_mar2021.pdf

March 2021,

''Contributions by Country (Ranking)''</ref>

===Non-Aligned Movement===

{{main|Non-Aligned Movement}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2022}}

Bangladesh was selected to provide the next chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at the organization's 2001 summit, scheduled to take place in [[Dhaka]]. However, it was later decided to host the summit at an alternative venue. As a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, Bangladesh has adopted a principle of staying neutral in the affairs of the [[great power]]s. However, it parted from this principle by voting against [[North Korea]] at the United Nations in December 2008, under pressure from [[Japan]].

===Organisation of Islamic Cooperation===

{{main|OIC}} ''See also'' [[Pakistan-OIC relations#OIC role in Pakistan-Bangladesh relationship|OIC role in Pakistan-Bangladesh relationship]]

In 1974, then Prime Minister [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]], led a Bangladeshi delegation team consisting of [[Kamal Hossain]], [[Enayet Karim]], [[Ataur Rahman Khan]], [[Taheruddin Thakur]], [[Tofail Ahmed]], and [[Shah Azizur Rahman]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1326/809299487_08b698b0c9_z.jpg|title=Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with Shah Azizur Rahman to his right at Lahore|access-date=8 May 2013|archive-date=25 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225214236/http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1326/809299487_08b698b0c9_z.jpg|url-status=dead}}</ref> to the international meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC, now the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]]) held in [[Lahore]]. Following this, Bangladesh was admitted as a member of OIC. In 1977, President [[Ziaur Rahman]] amended the [[Constitution of Bangladesh]], including a clause stating that "the state shall endeavour to consolidate, preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim countries based on Islamic solidarity".<ref>{{cite book |last=Ahamed |first=Emajuddin |year=2012 |chapter=Rahman, Shahid Ziaur |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Rahman,_Shahid_Ziaur |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> Since then, an explicit goal of Bangladeshi foreign policy has been to seek close relations with other Islamic states. In 1980, President Ziaur Rahman was included in a 3-member "Al-Quds" summit committee to attend the summit in Morocco.<ref>{{cite news |date=6 November 1980 |title=Rahman Heads for Islamic Summit |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ftxbAAAAIBAJ&pg=6329,1866786&dq=ziaur+rahman&hl=en |newspaper=St. Joseph News-Press |via=Google News |access-date=20 February 2015}}</ref> In 1983, Bangladesh hosted the assembled foreign ministers of the OIC in Dhaka. At the OIC headquarters in [[Jeddah]], Bangladesh is represented in the capacity of one of the Director Generals.

===South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation===
{{Main|South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation}}
The government also pursued the expansion of cooperation among the nations of South Asia, bringing the process, an initiative of former President Ziaur Rahman, through its earliest, most tentative stages to the formal inauguration of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) at a summit of South Asian leaders in Dhaka in December 1985. Bangladesh has served as the chair of SAARC and has participated in a wide range of ongoing SAARC regional activities

===Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation===

{{main|BIMSTEC}}

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation that includes South Asian and Southeast Asian nations. The member nations of this group are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal. The organisation focuses on regional cooperation in the sectors of economics, trade, and investment.

=== Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation ===

{{main|D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation}}

Bangladesh is among the 8 member countries of the Developing-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation (D-8).  The Developing-8 is an economic alliance consisting of Islamic-majority states that focuses on development in the areas of science and technology, banking, finance, agriculture and rural development, humanitarian development, energy, the environment, health, and finance. On 14 May 2006 in Bali, Indonesia, Bangladesh was the only nation not to sign a preferential trade agreement with the other D-8 states. Bangladesh has been the incumbent chair of the Developing-8 Countries since the organization's tenth summit in Dhaka in April 2021.

===Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement===
{{Main|Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement}}
The Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), formerly known as the Bangkok Agreement, was signed in 1975 under one of the major initiatives taken by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). Seven participating states, Bangladesh, the People's Republic of China, India, Laos, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and Sri Lanka are parties to the APTA. In 2005, Bangladesh signed the APTA agreement in order to enable it to reduce trade deficits between itself and other nations such as China, South Korea, and its neighbour India. The total APTA market includes around 2.9 billion people and, as of the fiscal year (FY) 2015–2016, a gross domestic product (GDP) of around $14.6 trillion [[United States dollar|USD]].<ref>Latifee, E. H., 2016, http://www.textiletoday.com.bd/bangladesh-rmgs-achievements-from-apta/</ref> APTA's objective is to hasten the economic development of the seven participating states by encouraging trade liberalisation measures.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rashid |first1=Mohammed Ali |editor1-last=Francois |editor1-first=Joseph  |editor2-last=Rana |editor2-first=Pradumna B. |editor3-last=Wignaraja |editor3-first=Ganeshan |title=National Strategies for Regional Integration |year=2009 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-1-84331-816-3 |page=168 |chapter=Bangladesh}}</ref>

===World Trade Organization===
{{Main|World Trade Organization}}
Bangladesh is an active member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Bangladesh has had a permanent mission in [[Geneva]] to look after matters relating to the multilateral trading system under the WTO regime since the mid-1990s.

===World Customs Organization===
{{Main|World Customs Organization}}
Bangladesh is an active member of the World Customs Organization (WCO). Bangladesh has a permanent representative to the WCO, which has its headquarters in [[Brussels]].

===Like Minded Group===

{{main|Like Minded Group}}

Bangladesh has formed an alliance with nineteen other developing countries to vote as a bloc in organisations such as the WTO and the United Nations.

===Other===

The government has participated in numerous international conferences, especially those dealing with population, food, development, and women's issues. In 1982{{ndash}}83, Bangladesh played a constructive role as chairman of the "[[Group of 77]]", an informal association encompassing most of the world's [[developing nation]]s. It has taken a leading role in the "Group of 48", another association of developing countries. Aside from the groups detailed previously, Bangladesh also participates in the following international organisations:
ARF, AsDB, CP, [[FAO]], IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, [[International Labour Organization|ILO]], [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]], IMO, [[Interpol (organization)|Interpol]], IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, SACEP, UNCTAD, [[UNESCO]], [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]], UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, [[WHO]], WIPO, WMO, and OPCW.