DHAKA — Khalilur Rahman was appointed foreign minister in the new government of Bangladesh led by Tarique Rahman. The appointment followed the formation of the administration in Dhaka, which succeeded the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus.

Khalilur Rahman previously served as national security adviser under the interim administration of Yunus. His earlier career included decades in the United Nations system, where he held senior policy positions in Geneva and New York and contributed to major United Nations development frameworks.

His academic record includes graduating first in economics from the University of Dhaka and topping Bangladesh's first regular civil service examination in 1977. He went on to study at Tufts University's Fletcher School and at Harvard's Kennedy School, earning advanced degrees in diplomacy and economics.

Since the formation of the new government, the foreign minister has undertaken diplomatic missions to Beijing, Delhi, Istanbul and Washington. The travel schedule has placed him at the center of efforts to manage relationships with major powers that hold competing interests in South Asia.

Khalilur Rahman made a state visit to China, where joint statements from Dhaka and Beijing included promises of deeper economic partnership. During his engagements with Chinese counterparts, he revived discussions around China's involvement in the Teesta River management project, a proposal that had been the subject of intermittent negotiations in past years.

The push for closer ties with Beijing intersects with commitments Dhaka has made to Washington. Bangladesh's recent agreement with the United States contains clauses that could complicate large-scale future Chinese investments without Washington's approval, according to industry assessments of the agreement's terms.

The diplomatic agenda also extends to New Delhi. Relations between Dhaka and New Delhi deteriorated during the interim administration led by Yunus, and Bangladesh is strategically important to India.

Bangladesh's foreign policy environment is shaped by overlapping pressures. The country is economically dependent on Western markets while increasingly tied to Chinese infrastructure financing. It is also vulnerable to regional instability emanating from Myanmar and the Rohingya crisis, a factor weighing on security planning across the region.