Senior figures from across the Muslim world support Bangladesh's candidature to preside over the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, as the new government seeks to reposition itself diplomatically following a landslide election victory.
During bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Executive Meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Palestine in Jeddah, Bangladesh's foreign minister, Dr Khalilur Rahman, secured what officials described as "full support" from several member-states for the country's bid for the largely ceremonial but symbolically important UN role.
Among those he met were Pakistan's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Saudi Arabia's vice foreign minister, Waleed A. Elkhreiji, Turkey's deputy foreign minister, Musa Kulaklikaya, Palestinian foreign minister Varsen Ohanes Vartan Aghabekian and Gambian foreign minister Sering Modou Njie, who chaired the executive meeting.
The diplomatic outreach comes weeks after Tarique Rahman assumed office as prime minister following the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's decisive electoral win.
"OIC leaders conveyed their congratulations and expressed confidence that his government would restore political stability and accelerate development," said a spokesman for the foreign ministry.
Bangladeshi officials have said the country's longstanding support for Palestinian statehood featured prominently in discussions. Rahman reaffirmed Dhaka's position that the conflict can only be resolved through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Palestinian foreign minister praised Bangladesh's "strong and consistent" backing, while indicating that the Arab and Islamic bloc would support Dhaka's UNGA bid.
At talks with Pakistan, Ishaq Dar recalled his meeting with late former prime minister Khaleda Zia and said Pakistan's prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, was keen to visit Bangladesh. Both sides voiced optimism that ties, strained in recent years, could strengthen under the new government in Dhaka.
Turkey's deputy foreign minister emphasised what he described as the "historic relationship" between Ankara and Dhaka. Rahman thanked Turkey for its assistance to Rohingya refugees sheltered in Bangladesh, and the two sides agreed to intensify efforts towards resolution of the crisis.
Rahman also handed over an invitation for Turkey's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, to visit Bangladesh after Ramadan.
Saudi Arabia signalled interest in deeper economic cooperation, with Elkhreiji pointing to opportunities under the kingdom's Vision 2030 reform programme.
He invited the Bangladeshi prime minister to visit Riyadh and extended a reciprocal invitation to Rahman. The Saudi side also sought Bangladesh's support for reforms aimed at enhancing the performance of the OIC secretariat.
Gambia's foreign minister reiterated his government's backing for the Rohingya cause, including its case before the International Court of Justice accusing Myanmar of genocide.
Both sides agreed to co-host an event on the Rohingya crisis at the upcoming OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Baghdad in April. Njie pledged to mobilise African support for Bangladesh's UNGA-presidency bid.
Bangladesh's delegation included the prime minister's foreign affairs adviser, Humayun Kabir, foreign secretary Ambassador Mollah Farhad Hossain and the country's permanent representative to the OIC, M.J.H. Jabed.
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