Experts: Proper foreign policies protect values and interests of nations

Experts at a discussion on Sunday emphasized the importance of practising proper foreign policies to help a country move ahead with the rest of the world. 

Thoughts on the subject were shared with the media at a colloquium entitled “Do values in foreign affairs have value?” organised by Bangladesh Heritage Foundation (BHF) at its office. 

The colloquium was spearheaded by Ambassador Waliur Rahman, chairman of BHF. 

Terming foreign policy as a set of political goals, Waliur Rahman said: “We need to seek and implement foreign policies in such ways that countries can join hands with other countries on the basis of diplomacy resting on values.

He stated:” Even though steps for implementing proper foreign policies have been taken before, till date they have never been implemented due to the ill motives of politicians. But it is high time now for countries in Asia to come up with better foreign policies. 

At the event, former Indian Foreign Secretary Krishnan Srinivasan in his speech dwelt on some ideas about values in relation to the making of foreign policies. 

He said: “Values are important to individuals and communities as foreign policies are important for a country.” He remarked that neither  Europe nor  Asia had any convincing examples of value-based foreign policies.

The colloquium was also attended by Vishal Jyoti Das, Second Secretary (Visa), High Commission of India; Prof Farhad Hossain, chairman, Department of English and Vice- Chairman, Bangladesh Heritage Foundation; Syed Badrul Ahsan, journalist and political commentator; Samshad Nowreen, assistant professor, Dept. of Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Dhaka and others.