Peter Haas applauds Bangladesh's vision of a 'free, open, peaceful, secure, and inclusive Indo-Pacific'

United States Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas has applauded Bangladesh's vision of a "free, open, peaceful, secure, and inclusive Indo-Pacific."

Bangladesh recently released its own Indo-Pacific Outlook, which outlined a number of important principles, and the way Bangladesh sees its role in the region, said the ambassador during a Bay of Bengal Conversation Panel titled "Defining Competition in the Indo-Pacific."

There is also significant overlap with the US's own, including on issues such as freedom of navigation and overflight; open, transparent, and rules-based multilateral systems; and environmental resilience, he added.

"Just as we seek a free and open region, we believe we can only truly fulfill these visions when we apply those principles domestically as well," said the US ambassador.

As liberal democracies, US approaches also recognise the importance of human rights to safeguarding peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

Looking around the region, nations such as Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia demonstrate that when people are secure, when their rights are protected, when they can access information and contribute to how they're governed, they are better connected to the global economy, feel empowered to pursue opportunities, and live up to their potential and what they can achieve, opined the ambassador.

"It is through the steadfast adherence to these bedrock principles that we lay the foundation for enduring, sustainable development and the harmonious coexistence of nations," added Peter Haas.

He also said, "We encourage Bangladesh to recognise the importance of these principles in its own past as it develops its own outlook."