Economic success leads to diplomatic power for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh ended 2021 with a USD 200 million loan to Maldives, after helping Sri Lanka during 2021 summer with a USD 250 million currency swap. Those are symbolic examples of Bangladesh’s rising diplomatic influence due to its economic growth. Transforming an image of a country in need to one that is able to help others.

The rise in diplomatic influence can be seen in Lowy Institute’s “Asia Power Index 2021” where Bangladesh ranking is almost a “middle power” and one of the only four countries in a total of 26 that rose in 2021.

Another example, in the light of the recent events in Ukraine disrupting the international food supply, is the French-backed idea of a “COVAX”-like global food alliance.

At the March 24th G-7 summit, the “Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission” (FARM) idea was endorsed and needs now to be discussed in larger forums like the G-20 which includes China and India, major growers of food crops.

France wants Bangladesh in the initiative, planned for supplying food to poor nations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Under the Farm initiative, food producing countries will produce more food than usual and will supply to countries at risk of worsening food insecurity under a global allocation mechanism similar to COVAX with the Covid-19 vaccine.

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