Programme

The international system is experiencing profound transformation. Traditional alliances are evolving, technological disruption is reshaping societies, and public trust in institutions is under strain. As geopolitical competition intensifies and global challenges become increasingly interconnected, leaders must reconsider how security, prosperity, and cooperation can be sustained. This first conversation will set the intellectual framework for the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 and explore the defining forces shaping the next decade.

Bangladesh’s story is no longer shaped only within its own borders. Its large diaspora - particularly in the United Kingdom and the wider West - has become part of the country’s political, cultural and democratic conversation. This Spotlight explores how diaspora communities have influenced the way Bangladesh is seen, debated and connected internationally, and how recent changes in the country have resonated far beyond Dhaka. It asks what contemporary Bangladesh looks like when viewed simultaneously from home and from abroad.

Strategic rivalry increasingly shapes international affairs. Yet history demonstrates the dangers of unmanaged competition. This discussion explores pathways for reducing tensions, preventing escalation, and sustaining dialogue amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.

The changing balance of global economic power has catalyzed perverse responses from the traditional dominant powers, which has contributed to instability and unpredictability across the international economic system, particularly for less empowered countries such as Bangladesh. Such responses may originate in structural factors which cannot be easily corrected globally or within the political economy of some of these countries. In such circumstances, our policymakers may need to explore more creative coping strategies which can strengthen resilience to navigate across this uncertain terrain and guide us in repositioning ourselves within the global economic landscape.

Connectivity today is about more than roads, ports, and trade routes; it is also about the networks of institutions, businesses, and markets that connect regions. As South Asia seeks new sources of growth and investment, stronger commercial links with the wider Commonwealth could create new opportunities in trade, finance, technology, and enterprise. This conversation will examine how regional business networks can move beyond political constraints, deepen practical cooperation, and translate connectivity into shared economic opportunity.

Leadership asks us to navigate uncertainty, make difficult choices, and carry responsibility for others. But what keeps the person behind the decisions grounded? Drawing on spirituality, yoga, mindfulness, and ikigai-the sense of meaning that makes life worth living-this address explores the relationship between inner well-being and responsible leadership. It considers how self-awareness and a clearer sense of purpose can inform the way we listen, respond to pressure, and exercise influence. In a world focused on speed and achievement, it invites a pause to ask, what are we leading for, and how do we remain human along the way?

What happens to democratic leadership when institutions are weak, security is under pressure and citizens begin to lose confidence in the state? Drawing on experience from Mali and across Africa, this address reflects on the difficult relationship between governance, security, legitimacy and development. It asks how states facing fragility can rebuild trust, strengthen institutions and preserve democratic possibility without allowing crisis to become a permanent condition.

Asia now sits at the centre of global economic growth, technological innovation, and geopolitical competition. This session examines the opportunities and risks facing the world's most dynamic region and explores how Asian nations can contribute to a more stable and prosperous international order.

A decade of social protection reform has reshaped how Bangladesh thinks about welfare, inclusion, and the responsibilities of the state. With the National Social Security Strategy now reaching an important point of evaluation, this dialogue will examine what has worked, where institutional and coordination gaps remain, and what lessons should guide the next generation of social protection. Bringing together government, parliament, experts, and development partners, the session will explore how a more responsive, integrated, and trusted social protection system can strengthen social cohesion and governance in a rapidly changing economic and social landscape.

Technology, social media, foreign influence operations, and declining public trust have transformed electoral politics worldwide. This session explores how electoral systems can remain credible, inclusive, and resilient amid new challenges.

Bangladesh has travelled through repeated democratic openings, reversals, and unfinished transitions. This Author’s Table explores the central questions raised in A Fractured Path: why past efforts failed, who the key actors are, what structural obstacles remain, and whether the current transition can produce a more durable democratic order.

The conversation connects Bangladesh’s experience with lessons from other countries that have succeeded, or failed, in similar transitions.

Climate change is no longer solely an environmental challenge. It is increasingly shaping national security, economic stability, migration patterns, and geopolitical competition. As one of the world's most climate-vulnerable regions, the Bay of Bengal offers important lessons on adaptation, resilience, and international cooperation in an era of mounting environmental pressures.

Today's societies face overlapping crises-from natural disasters and cyber disruptions to economic shocks and political instability. This session examines how governments, communities, and institutions can strengthen resilience and maintain public trust during periods of uncertainty.

Could the separate fires surrounding the Black, Mediterranean, Caspian, Red and Arabian seas converge into a wider conflict-drawing the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal into its path? This strategic address examines the struggle over supply routes, Iran’s emerging role, and the Gulf’s security challenges amid concerns over declining American influence. It explores the potential for BRICS to help chart a path towards peace through political and diplomatic engagement. At its heart is a question of direct relevance to this forum: how can the Bay of Bengal remain a space of connection rather than become the next frontier of conflict?

AI is changing how we work. Technology is changing how we communicate. Geopolitics is changing how we see the world. Everything around us is moving faster. And yet, for all this change, people remain remarkably human.

We still want to be understood. We still crave connection, recognition, and belonging. We still make irrational decisions, misread situations, tell stories, laugh at the wrong things, and find ways to turn even the most serious moments into something absurd.

In this plenary, a world-renowned comedian, executive coach, and educator explore what the craft of stand-up comedy can teach us about influence, creativity, adaptability, and communication in a rapidly changing world.

Drawing on decades of performing across cultures and continents, he offers a fresh perspective on leadership, human behaviour, and the skill that becomes more valuable as technology becomes more powerful.

Because perhaps the most important question about the future isn't what technology will become, but what we will remain.

Local elections are where democratic participation becomes most immediate and where questions of representation, access and leadership are often most visible. In Bangladesh, women participate widely in local political life, yet significant barriers remain to competing for general seats, chairperson positions and other leadership roles. This conversation will examine the institutional, financial, social and security constraints that shape women’s participation across the electoral cycle and ask what is needed to move from representation to meaningful political influence. It will also explore how electoral institutions, political actors, civil society, media and communities can help create a safer, more inclusive and trusted environment for women’s leadership in local governance.

Governance is often discussed in terms of institutions, elections, and public policy-but the deeper question is whether societies truly know how to exercise power responsibly, build trust, and make institutions work for citizens. This Catalyst asks what good governance actually demands beyond laws and structures: accountability, competence, restraint, public reasoning, and the willingness to listen. In an age of political polarisation and declining trust, it challenges us to consider whether the real crisis is not only who governs but also how we govern-and whether we have learned to do it well.

Governments across the Bay of Bengal are increasingly using artificial intelligence in public services, health, courts, taxation, social protection, and other functions of the state. Much of this promises greater efficiency and wider access. But a sharper question emerges when a model, rather than a person, begins to make judgments about individuals-who receives a benefit, who is audited, or whose application is approved. This dialogue explores the point at which efficiency and accountability begin to come apart and asks what must remain human when the machinery of the state becomes increasingly automated.

How should countries navigate a world in which great-power competition is intensifying, alliances are shifting, and domestic divisions increasingly shape foreign policy? Drawing on the experience of democratic transition, regional reconciliation and strategic balancing in the Balkans, this lecture reflects on the difficult choices leaders face when national interest, historical memory, international pressure and the need for cooperation pull in different directions. It asks what responsible statecraft looks like in a fragmented world-and whether political courage can still create space for reconciliation, strategic autonomy and durable peace.

Bangladesh’s political transition created expectations of change across institutions, including the media. Reform commissions were formed, recommendations were made, and hopes rose for greater freedom, accountability and professional security. Yet months after the election, many of those expectations remain unmet, while concerns over laws, safety, institutional protection and media independence persist. This Catalyst asks where Bangladesh journalism stands today, why promised reforms have been slow to materialise, and whether the moment for meaningful change is still within reach. Recent public debate has continued to focus on media independence, journalist safety, legal reform and the gap between reform proposals and implementation.

Many societies are experiencing declining trust in institutions, growing political polarization, and increasing pressure on democratic norms. This session explores practical pathways for strengthening democratic resilience, social cohesion, and public confidence.

Infrastructure can transform economies, but too many projects are weakened by delays, escalating costs, poor coordination, weak project management and failures of accountability. Bringing together engineers, planners, project managers, policymakers and industry leaders, this dialogue will examine why major projects so often struggle between design and delivery-and what reforms in procurement, oversight, professional standards and institutional coordination can help infrastructure be completed faster, better and at lower cost.

Geopolitical tensions, economic nationalism, and supply-chain vulnerabilities are reshaping international commerce, and businesses are adapting to a rapidly changing global trading environment. This has created the need for adaptation of firms to a rapidly changing global environment.

The Indo-Pacific has become the central theatre of global strategic competition. Yet regional actors are increasingly pursuing flexible partnerships rather than rigid alliances. This session examines emerging alignments, strategic autonomy, and the future of regional security architecture.

The battle for influence is increasingly taking place online. Deepfakes, coordinated misinformation campaigns, and algorithmic manipulation challenge democratic institutions and public trust. This session examines how societies can defend information integrity while protecting freedom of expression.

This session introduces Crafting Pragmatism: Bangladesh’s Foreign Policy in an Era of Global Realignment, a policy research endeavour examining how Bangladesh converts structural vulnerability into diplomatic agency amid intensifying great-power competition. Anchored in the Bay of Bengal’s growing strategic salience, the discussion traces Bangladesh’s evolution from doctrinal non-alignment toward pragmatic multi-alignment, diversifying partnerships across soft power, migration, pharmaceuticals, climate diplomacy, and supply chains rather than binding itself to a single power bloc. The session’s significance lies in bridging theoretical innovation, including meta geopolitics, graduated autonomy, and strategic pluralism, with policy-relevant empirical findings from selective in-depth studies, offering scholars and practitioners a shared framework for understanding how small and middle powers navigate global fragmentation. Particular attention goes to maritime security, connectivity, and energy dependence as emerging fault lines increasingly shape Bangladesh’s foreign policy calculus within the wider Bay of Bengal and Indo-Pacific space.

The demands placed on leaders have never been greater. Governments must navigate geopolitical competition, technological disruption, climate risks, and societal expectations simultaneously. This session explores what effective leadership looks like in an increasingly complex world.

For decades, state capacity has been understood in terms of resources, institutions, and administrative effectiveness. New research suggests that outcomes also depend on the quality of relationships between citizens and government. At the same time, governments are increasingly turning to AI to support service delivery, regulation, and decision-making. This session explores the intersection of these trends. What kinds of trust, recognition, and accountability are required for AI-enabled governance to succeed? Under what conditions does technology strengthen citizen-state relationships, and when might it erode them?

Countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America increasingly seek to avoid being drawn into major power rivalries. This session explores how middle powers are expanding diplomatic space, diversifying partnerships, and asserting greater influence in global affairs.

Freshwater resources are becoming increasingly contested across many parts of the world. Shared river systems present both opportunities for cooperation and sources of political tension. This session explores emerging approaches to water diplomacy, transboundary governance, and sustainable management of shared resources, with relevance to South Asia and the Bay of Bengal region.

The energy transition is no longer only a question of ambition; it is increasingly a question of implementation. Governments face the challenge of securing reliable and affordable energy while expanding renewables, mobilising private investment and modernising energy infrastructure. Drawing on the experience of Bangladesh and the wider region, this dialogue will explore the policy, regulatory, financing and institutional barriers that can slow the transition from targets to delivery and what is needed to turn renewable-energy potential into energy security.

For small islands and coastal nations, climate change is no longer an abstract environmental debate - it is a question of territory, livelihoods, sovereignty and national survival. This address explores what climate vulnerability means for political leadership, international justice and human security, and why countries on the front line of rising seas must have a stronger voice in shaping the global response. From the Maldives to the Bay of Bengal, it asks a fundamental question: what does sovereignty mean when the geography of a nation itself is at risk?

Investment is no longer simply an economic question. Infrastructure finance, sovereign wealth funds, and strategic investments increasingly influence political and security outcomes. This session explores how countries can maximize economic benefits while safeguarding national interests.

The ocean is often viewed through the lenses of borders, trade routes, resources and strategic competition. Yet beneath these divisions lies a more fundamental reality: the ocean is a shared system connecting our climate, food, livelihoods, security and human dignity. Drawing on extraordinary encounters with some of the world’s most challenging waters, this address invites us to see the ocean not as a frontier that separates nations, but as a living connection that binds their futures together. At a time of climate disruption, geopolitical fragmentation and growing human insecurity, it asks what changes when we begin to understand the ocean not simply as territory to navigate or compete over, but as a shared foundation of resilience, prosperity and human survival.

As global power becomes more dispersed, a new group of strategically consequential countries is gaining greater agency in shaping international affairs. Neither defined by traditional blocs nor confined to great-power rivalries, this New Strategic Middle is navigating competing partnerships while advancing its own interests and choices in an increasingly multipolar world.

Many societies continue to grapple with difficult questions related to past conflicts, political transitions, and demands for accountability. This session explores comparative experiences in transitional justice, reconciliation, and institution-building.

The Bay of Bengal is emerging as one of the most strategically significant regions of the twenty-first century. Connecting South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the broader Indo-Pacific, the region is central to maritime trade, energy security, connectivity, climate resilience, and geopolitical competition.

The era of unchallenged dominance by any single power is fading. While the United States and China remain central actors, emerging powers and regional coalitions increasingly shape global outcomes. This session explores how states are adapting to a more fluid distribution of power and what multipolarity means for stability, competition, and cooperation.

Control of maritime routes, ports, and undersea infrastructure has become central to geopolitical competition. As naval presence expands across the Indian Ocean, questions surrounding freedom of navigation, maritime security, and regional cooperation take on renewed importance.

Wars are no longer confined to traditional battlefields. Cyber-attacks, information operations, economic coercion, and proxy conflicts have transformed how power is exercised. This discussion examines how security institutions must adapt to new forms of conflict.

Women's leadership is increasingly influencing diplomacy, governance, security, business, and civil society. This conversation highlights the experiences of prominent female leaders and examines how inclusive leadership can contribute to more resilient and effective institutions.

Technological innovation is advancing faster than regulatory frameworks. Policymakers worldwide face difficult questions regarding privacy, ethics, artificial intelligence, digital rights, and state oversight. This session explores pathways toward responsible governance of emerging technologies.

The Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 concludes by reflecting on the major themes that have emerged throughout the conference. Speakers will assess the challenges and opportunities facing the international community and consider how leadership, innovation, and cooperation can help shape a more stable, inclusive, and resilient future.

Former foreign ministers, diplomats, and negotiators reflect on lessons from diplomacy in an era of geopolitical uncertainty.

Leading journalists discuss reporting from conflict zones, covering global crises, and defending independent journalism amid growing pressures.

Despite its strategic location and demographic dynamism, the Bay of Bengal remains under-integrated economically. This session explores pathways for deeper regional cooperation, trade expansion, and sustainable growth

Food security is increasingly affected by climate change, conflict, supply chain disruptions, and population growth. This session examines how governments, businesses, and international institutions can strengthen agricultural resilience and safeguard food systems against future shocks.

Urban centers are at the forefront of demographic, economic, and environmental transformation. From Dhaka to Lagos and Jakarta to São Paulo, cities face growing challenges related to infrastructure, housing, transportation, and climate resilience. This discussion explores how cities can remain engines of opportunity amid mounting pressures.

Migration is increasingly driven by conflict, economic opportunity, climate change, and demographic shifts. This session examines how governments can balance national interests with humanitarian responsibilities while promoting safe, orderly, and dignified mobility.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated both the strengths and weaknesses of international health governance. Future crises may emerge from pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, or climate-related health risks. This session explores how global health systems can become more resilient and equitable.

Traditional security concepts focus primarily on military threats. Today, vulnerabilities related to food, water, energy, health, and climate increasingly shape national stability. This session explores how governments can integrate human security into broader strategic planning.

Journalism remains essential to accountability and informed public debate. Yet media institutions face unprecedented challenges from economic pressures, technological disruption, and information manipulation. This session examines the future of independent journalism and trusted information ecosystems.

Managing diversity remains one of the defining challenges of modern governance. This session explores how societies can strengthen inclusion, social cohesion, and national unity while respecting political, cultural, ethnic, and religious differences.