<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">Bangladesh on Monday officially unveiled its Indo-Pacific Outlook (IPO) outlining four guiding principles and 15 objectives in the document released by State Minister of Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam in Dhaka. </span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen and the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saheli Sabrin were also present on the occasion. </span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">The official document recognizes that stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific is a crucial factor in realizing Bangladesh's 'Vision 2041', which aims to build a modern, knowledge-based developed country by 2041. In view of the importance of the Indo-Pacific area for its collective share in global GDP, international trade, and growing technological dynamism among others, Bangladesh envisions a free, open, peaceful, secure, and inclusive Indo- Pacific for the shared prosperity for all.</span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">The guiding principles of the document include respect for national sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for UN principles, and renunciation of the use of force in international relations as some of its key elements. It also refers to adherence to relevant UN treaties and international conventions, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as its guiding principles.</span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">The Indo-Pacific outlook of Bangladesh calls for strengthening the existing mechanisms on maritime safety and security in the Indo-Pacific. Further, the exercise of freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law and relevant conventions, including UNCLOS 1982 are part of the 15-point objectives of the Indo-Pacific outlook unveiled on Monday. </span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">The outlook extends support to regional and international efforts toward combating transnational organized crimes in the Indo-Pacific through both normative and practical actions. The objectives of the IPO include promotion of interfaith harmony and efforts to build peaceful, just, and inclusive societies in the Indo-Pacific. The IPO calls for promoting open, transparent, rules-based multilateral systems that enable equitable and sustainable development in the Indo-Pacific. </span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">The IPO seeks to leverage the domestic agriculture, manufacturing, and services sectors towards building resilient regional and global value chains to better manage future crises and disruptions and to promote unimpeded and free flow of commerce in the Indo-Pacific. </span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000;">Collaboration with sub-regional partners and relevant organizations towards bolstering regional cooperation and enhancing mutually beneficial complementarities is included in the objectives of the IPO unveiled on Monday.</span></p>''<p style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br />''</p>