DHAKA, Dec 28, 2023 (BSS) - Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen today said that Bangladesh will not allow anyone to use its land to serve others' interests while Dhaka is against any kind of war in the world.
 
"We don't want any war, be it real war or proxy war. We are against war," he said while responding to a question during a year-ending interaction with the members of Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the foreign ministry here. 

He said any kind of conflict or war in the region would derail Bangladesh from achieving its goal of further development.

"For this reason, we always exercise maximum restraint," he said referring to provocations of Myanmar during Rohingya influx in 2017.
 
He said there were instructions from the top leadership to exercise restraint as Bangladesh's focus remains on more development. 
 
"We are against any sort of war as common people, women and children suffer from conflicts," he said. 

Replying to a query on global geopolitics, Masud said Bangladesh is trying its best to maintain balanced foreign policy through maintaining contact and communication with all the countries.

"We are not making anyone hostile, we are responding timely and responding concerns if any. Many are saying that they want to learn from us. They are happy on how Bangladesh is dealing with all these competing demands and interests," he said. 

About the next national election, Masud said the government hopes that the election will be free and fair. "We don't think that the election won't be free and fair, there is no reason to be panicked," he added.
 
The foreign secretary said they are concentrating on how they can help the Election Commission to hold free and fair polls. 

"We are committed to hold a free and fair election. That's our focus. If there is any problem, we will face that," he said.

He said whether any particular country will recognize the polls or not, it is irrelevant.

Earlier on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said they do not want to see any proxy war in the region and highlighted the importance of peace and stability for greater development.

Momen said Bangladesh has taken a leadership role in the region to establish culture of peace and other countries acknowledged this.