Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman has reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to working closely with ASEAN and its partners to strengthen regional cooperation in tackling emerging and transnational threats. Speaking at the commemorative ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) in Manila, he stressed the need for practical and coordinated initiatives to bolster global resilience against pandemics, climate shocks, cyber incidents, and supply chain disruptions.
Enhanced Regional Cooperation
Dr Khalilur emphasized the importance of joint early-warning systems, shared risk assessments, and regional crisis-response mechanisms to strengthen collective preparedness and resilience against these challenges. He also outlined ways to address emerging threats posed by AI-enabled cybercrime as well as misinformation and disinformation spread through social media.
Bilateral Meetings
On the sidelines of the TAC anniversary events, Dr Khalilur Rahman held separate bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Chile, the Netherlands, and the Philippines, as well as Qatar’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs. The meetings covered a range of issues of mutual interest, including trade and investment, energy supply, water-resource management, legal migration, and the circular economy.
Background on TAC
The TAC, signed five decades ago, establishes principles governing relations among states in the region, including mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs. Bangladesh acceded to the TAC in 2007, becoming one of the first South Asian countries to formalize a treaty-based commitment to ASEAN’s normative framework.
