DHAKA ( WNAM MONITORING ): Newly formed Bangladesh government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is dominated by first-time ministers, with a likely focus on reviving the economy and improving ties with neighboring countries, analysts say.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Tarique Rahman on Tuesday began his five-year term after winning elections held last week.
“Most of (BNP) leaders either grew elderly or have passed away. So, we see so many new faces in the Cabinet. However, time has not come to assess them yet,” Shahabul Haque, a professor of political studies at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), told Anadolu.
The Cabinet includes three technocrats, among them Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman, who previously served in the interim government as national security adviser.
Salahuddin Ahmed, who was a victim of forced disappearance during the previous Awami League government, was assigned the Home Affairs Ministry portfolio.
Khalilur Rahman, a career diplomat, “played a key role in tariff negotiations with the US which were reduced to 19% from staggering 37%,” Haque said.
Rahman, 60, retained direct control of the defense portfolio as well as oversight of the Armed Forces and Cabinet divisions.
He is Bangladesh’s 11th prime minister and the country’s first male head of government since 1991.
After securing 209 seats in the 300-member parliament, Rahman formed a 49-member Cabinet, including 24 junior ministers, most of them first-time office holders.
The BNP last governed Bangladesh between 2001 and 2006.
Economy, foreign policy likely focus
According to the former interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the Awami League administration under ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina siphoned off $234 during its 15-year rule.
“Economic stability and curbing the inflation will be the key challenges of the new government,” Haque said.
Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, who was appointed finance and planning minister, “would face challenges but planned focus could improve the situation,” he added.
On foreign policy, Haque said Bangladesh needs a “balanced foreign policy… Not like what Hasina did nor rough relations with neighboring India during Yunus’ term,” emphasizing the importance of regional peace and stability.
The BNP government is the country’s first elected administration in 18 months, after Hasina fled to India in August 2024 amid a student-led uprising.
The Yunus-led interim administration governed until Tuesday, when Rahman and his Cabinet were sworn in.
