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Kneeling foreign policy has been buried: FM
Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman today said Bangladesh has been able to stand tall in the international arena with a self-reliant and firm foreign policy under the present government, adding that the country has buried its "kneeling foreign policy" by overcoming the weak diplomatic position of the past 15 years.
He made the remarks while replying to a supplementary question from ruling party lawmaker Mohammad Fazle Huda of Naogaon-3 in Parliament today.
The foreign minister said Bangladesh has gained the ability to stand on its own feet and hold its head high in the international arena due to the successful and far-sighted foreign policy pursued by the Prime Minister of the present government.
"Based on this visionary leadership, Bangladesh's foreign policy will be taken forward in a more organised manner," he said.
Responding to a lawmaker's question about the performance of Bangladesh's diplomatic missions abroad and the expansion of overseas employment markets, Dr Khalilur acknowledged that the government is reviewing whether a special "reward system" should be introduced to recognise missions that perform successfully in creating employment opportunities, exploring new labour markets, increasing manpower exports and facilitating the highest volume of trade.
The foreign minister said that during the past 15 years of misrule, Bangladesh's foreign policy and diplomatic missions had effectively not been under proper control of the government.
"There was no visible interest or effective oversight by the previous government regarding the overall activities of embassies, services for expatriate Bangladeshis, and protection of the country's economic and political interests," he said.
He said the present government has been able to overcome that stagnant and ineffective situation after assuming office.
Outlining new measures to enhance accountability and efficiency of diplomatic missions, the foreign minister said the government is preparing a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system to assess the performance of each Bangladesh mission abroad.
"Based on this KPI assessment, the performance and grading of each embassy will be determined in the future," he said.
He also assured Parliament that updated information on the successes, failures and overall performance of each diplomatic mission would be formally presented to lawmakers when the national budget is placed before Parliament next year.
"Members of Parliament have every right to know this information," he said.
At the same time, Dr Khalilur said the existing budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is highly inadequate compared with the country's geographical size, economic priorities and the importance of global diplomacy, reports BSS.