CGS President Zillur Rahman Says Bay of Bengal Conversation Is ‘Becoming an Institution’ as Fifth Edition Opens

DHAKA, 3 October 2026 — Zillur Rahman, President of the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS), delivered welcome remarks at the opening of the fifth Bay of Bengal Conversation in Dhaka on 3 October 2026, alongside CGS Executive Director Parvez Karim Abbasi, according to Dhaka Tribune and The Business Standard. The CGS organises the three-day forum, which runs at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel until 5 October.

A growing region

Mr Rahman said the Bay of Bengal is becoming increasingly important in the context of maritime security and regional geopolitics, according to Dhaka Tribune. “As a vital link between South Asia and Southeast Asia, one of the key objectives of this initiative is to explore effective solutions to the challenges and opportunities rooted in the Bay,” he said. He added that this year’s discussions would focus on geopolitics, security, trust, climate change, spirituality and humanity.

An institution in the making

At a press conference at the venue on 2 October, Mr Rahman and Mr Abbasi set out the forum’s vision of establishing Dhaka as a centre for serious, independent global dialogue, according to The Daily Star. “Five years ago, the Bay of Bengal Conversation was an experiment; today, it is becoming an institution,” Mr Rahman said. The Daily Star, which also describes him as a noted talk-show host, reports that he highlighted CGS’s independent and non-partisan nature and said the think tank, which has already established CGS USA in Washington, DC, plans to expand to Brussels and Dubai in the coming years.

Pressenza’s report of the same press conference quotes Mr Abbasi as saying the conversation is the largest privately organised international geopolitical conference in South Asia, a description that comes from the organisers and is not an independent ranking. He said efforts had continued to bring difficult and sensitive issues to the centre of discussion, and that this year’s conference would address global geopolitical uncertainty, Bangladesh’s democratic governance and sustainable development.

Mr Rahman is also scheduled to close the conference: the official programme lists “The Final Conversation” with Zillur Rahman as the last session on Monday 5 October.

Why It Matters

Independent, privately run platforms for geopolitical dialogue are still uncommon in South Asia, and the Bay of Bengal Conversation’s move from experiment to recurring fixture suggests there is demand for neutral ground where governments, scholars and businesses can talk candidly. The test, as the organisers’ own expansion plans imply, will be whether the discussions in Dhaka shape policy debates well beyond the venue.