Diplomatic Desk:
On Monday (August 10, 2026), a colorful reception was organized at the Renaissance Dhaka Gulshan Hotel in the capital to mark the 59th founding anniversary of ASEAN. The ASEAN Dhaka Committee (ADC), consisting of ambassadors and high commissioners of ASEAN member states stationed in Bangladesh, organized the event on Monday night. Business In Bangladesh Editor Engr. Mohammad Shajibul-Al-Rajib participated as an invited guest and extended greetings.
The chief guest at the event was the Minister of Fisheries and Livestock and Agriculture Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid. Speaking as the chief guest, Minister for Fisheries, Livestock and Agriculture Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid said that Bangladesh has historical, cultural and economic relations with ASEAN countries as neighbors and close partners. This bond, founded on history, culture and mutual trust, has been further deepened through land and sea connectivity, strong people-to-people engagement and strong commercial relations.
Highlighting the initiatives to make ASEAN’s relations with Bangladesh more institutional and sustainable, the minister said that Bangladesh has already applied to become ASEAN’s Sectoral Dialogue Partner (SDP). Bangladesh has taken various initiatives to increase sectoral cooperation with ASEAN and several projects are being implemented and in process.
At the beginning of the program, ASEAN Dhaka Committee Chair and Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Mohammad Shuhada Othman delivered a welcome speech. He called for deepening and multi-dimensionalizing the long-standing friendly relations between Bangladesh and ASEAN. He said that Bangladesh and ASEAN can create new opportunities for mutual benefit and common prosperity by leveraging each other’s strengths.
Then, on behalf of the Philippines, which holds the ASEAN chairmanship in 2026, the country’s Ambassador to Bangladesh, Nina Padilla Keinglet, spoke. She said that consensus, patience and mutual trust have taken ASEAN forward in the course of nearly six decades. She also mentioned that the combined economy of this region of about 700 million people has reached close to US$4 trillion.
A video was shown at the event on the various activities and involvement of the ASEAN Dhaka Committee in 2026. In addition, a video on the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship in 2026 was also shown.
The event was attended by officials from various government departments including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, diplomats from various countries posted in Dhaka, representatives of international organizations, business leaders, media representatives, representatives of the private sector and civil society, and prominent figures.
