Khalilur Rahman’s induction as Bangladesh’s new foreign affairs minister is being viewed in Dhaka’s diplomatic circles as a careful recalibration of the country’s external posture. Rahman is not a conventional partisan choice.
A career diplomat, appointed National Security Adviser to Mohammad Yunus’s interim government last year, he attracted controversy both at home and abroad and is known in diplomatic circles as pro-American.
Last year, the BNP had held press conferences questioning the intent behind his placement, even questioning his citizenship status. That he now occupies one of the most sensitive portfolios suggests a drastic change of heart on the part of the ruling party.
Balancing ties with Washington
Bangladesh is at a delicate juncture in its engagement with the US, particularly over a trade arrangement that critics in Dhaka view as uneven. Managing that equation will require not only negotiation skills but also political trust on both sides.
If the government’s objective is to steady ties with Washington while protecting economic interests, Rahman is arguably well positioned to attempt that balance.
His experience on the Rohingya file further underscores the logic of his selection. As the Chief Adviser’s High Representative on the refugee crisis, Rahman was deeply engaged in the multilateral diplomacy surrounding one of Bangladesh’s most enduring strategic burdens — the Rohingya refugee issue.
The Arakan corridor proposal
It is in this context that the most controversial dimension of Khalilur Rahman’s policy thinking surfaces: the proposal for a humanitarian corridor into Myanmar’s Rakhine state, often described as the “Arakan corridor”.
The idea envisions a passage from Bangladesh to facilitate aid deliveries into conflict-ridden Rakhine, where the Arakan rebels are still fighting Myanmar’s military junta.
Supporters contend the proposed corridor is a strategic instrument facilitating structured access into Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state, which will signal to the international community that Dhaka is not merely the reluctant host of the Rohingya crisis but an active participant in shaping its resolution.
However, others warn that any corridor arrangement would inevitably raise fraught questions of sovereignty and border security, given the fluid and volatile dynamics inside Myanmar. There is also the risk of inadvertent entanglement in a protracted internal conflict that has already drawn in a web of regional and extra-regional interests.
Strategic recalibration amid regional complexities
In Dhaka’s policy circles, attention has now turned to whether Khalilur Rahman’s elevation reflects tacit endorsement by the new government of advancing the corridor proposal.
The trajectory of the corridor initiative will, however, likely hinge less on rhetoric than on shifting domestic political calculations, the evolving security landscape in Rakhine, and the posture adopted by major global actors.
What is evident, however, is that this appointment is not accidental. At a time when Bangladesh must build bridges with New Delhi while simultaneously managing Washington, navigating Beijing’s regional presence, responding to instability in Myanmar, and sustaining economic diplomacy, the government has chosen a figure seen as strategically agile and to the liking of Western capitals.
