October 2, 2026, Dhaka
More than 200 speakers from over 100 countries, 300-plus delegates, and more than 1,000 participants will attend the three-day international conference organized by CGS for the fifth time.
The international conference “Bay of Bengal Conversation (BOBC) 2026,” organized by the research institute Center for Governance Studies (CGS), will begin tomorrow, Saturday, October 3, 2026, in Dhaka. The fifth edition of the conference will be held from October 3 to 5 at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital. BOBC has already established itself as an important platform for regional diplomacy, as the largest international geopolitical conference in South Asia.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will deliver the keynote address at this year’s opening session. The guest list includes former and current heads of state, ministers, diplomats, military experts, university professors, researchers, businesspeople and investors, journalists, human rights activists, technology experts, and representatives of international development organizations from various countries.
At a press conference held Friday morning at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, CGS President Zillur Rahman formally announced the opening of the conference. Highlighting the five key pillars of this year’s Bay of Bengal Conversation, he said:
“The importance of the Bay of Bengal is steadily increasing in the context of maritime security and regional geopolitics. As a meeting point between South and Southeast Asia, one of the key objectives of this initiative is to seek effective solutions to the challenges and opportunities emerging around this region. This year’s discussions will focus on issues such as geopolitics, security, trust, climate change, spirituality, and humanity.”
He added that CGS has already expanded its operations to the United States and plans to expand to Brussels and Dubai in the future.
At the press conference, CGS Executive Director Parvez Karim Abbasi said that the Bay of Bengal Conversation is the largest privately organized international geopolitical conference in South Asia. He said its scope has expanded over time and that efforts have continued to bring difficult and sensitive issues to the center of discussion.
This year’s conference will address global geopolitical uncertainty, Bangladesh’s democratic governance, and sustainable development. He called on participants to actively engage in these dialogues.
Also present at the press conference were CGS Director Subir Das, Research Assistant Tasfia Rahman, and other members of CGS.
