Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies
BIISS was established as a statutory body of the Government by the then President and Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Major General Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam in June 25, 1978. The Institute was established with a view to undertaking and promoting research and deliberation on international affairs, security and developmental issues.
The Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies Ordinance 1984 (ordinance No. XXVII of 1984) and BIISS Law 2013 defines the objectives, functions and organizational structure of the Institute.The Institute is expected to advance knowledge and understanding of contemporary international and strategic issues in national and regional perspectives.
Since its inception, BIISS has played a vital role in studying Bangladesh's foreign and strategic relations with the world. Our history is marked by a consistent commitment to rigorous research, high-level policy advisory, and fostering a deeper understanding of global affairs within the region and beyond.
BIISS was established in June 25, 1978 as a statutory body by the then President and Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) Major General Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam to promote policy research on international and strategic affairs.
Regular academic journal initiated to publish research on foreign policy, security, development, and strategic issues.
The Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies Ordinance was published in 28 March, 1984 bearing the ordinance No. XXVII of 1984.
“The Assam Tangle: Outlook for the Future” released as the first of the BIISS Papers series, focusing on regional peace and boundary challenges.
“South Asian Regional Cooperation: A Socio-Economic Approach to Peace and Stability” published—marking BIISS’s entry into scholarly book publications.
The first phase of a collaboration between BIISS and the Oceans Institute of Canada (OIC), Dalhousie University, Canada began in December 1996 with the visit of a delegation from the OIC. The first workshop was held in January 1997 in Dhaka with participation of OIC and concerned scholars and institutions from Bangladesh. A number of possible areas including national capacity building on maritime issues, and in-country networking have been identified for future collaboration. It was followed by a training workshop on Legal and Technical Aspects of Maritime Boundary Delimitation at BIISS on 27-29 July 1998 with participation of OIC experts as resource persons. A delegation from the OIC visited BIISS during April 17-18, 2000 to work out the details of the second phase of the collaboration. As Bangladesh has ratified the instrument of the Law of the Sea Convention, it is expected that the second phase will cover some of the follow up activities.
The Institute initiated a series of dialogues with scholars and opinion making elites from the bordering states of India with a view to better appreciation of each other's perceptions. The first dialogue was held in Dhaka in February 1997 with participants om West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. A coordination meeting on the future dialogues was held in Calcutta in July 1997. The second dialogue was held in Calcutta during August16-17, 2000. The sub-themes covered in the second dialogue were: trade cooperation, management of borders and transport cooperation. The third dialogue took place in August 2001 in Dhaka.
After successful completion of a major collaborative study on Schemes of Regional Economic Cooperation Aimed at Fostering Economic Growth in South Asia: The Role of Japan, in 1995-96, the Institute was also involved in another investigative work on Assistance for SAARC Chambers of Commerce for Regional Cooperation of the Member Countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives in cooperation with International Development Center of Japan (IDCJ), Tokyo during 1997-98.
BIISS had been part of a tripartite cooperation with the Ford Foundation and the Singapore-based Institute of South East Asian Studies (ISEAS). Under this, two BIISS senior researchers had been offered three-month fellowship each to undertake research on Bangladesh's relations with South East Asia. At the end of three-year period during which ten scholars from Bangladesh availed of the fellowship, a joint seminar was held in Dhaka in May 2001 to evaluate the fellowship programme. A second component of the cooperation programme brought six scholars from the South East Asian countries to give talks/seminars to different forums in Dhaka under the aegis of BIISS.
BIISS has undertaken this research project with assistance from the Asia Foundation, Dhaka. The focus of this project was to explore the role of small states like Bangladesh in South Asian context in promoting peace and stability. Six comprehensive papers had been commissioned with six renowned scholars in the country. The draft papers were deliberated in brainstorming sessions followed by a Regional Workshop in August 2003 where scholars from the regional countries deliberated on the findings of the study.
BIISS had undertaken the research project with assistance from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), a German foundation with its South Asian office in New Delhi and a liaison office in Dhaka. The main objective of the research project was to critically analyse the institutional preparedness and challenges in implementing the WTO rules including the challenges emanating from phasing out of the MFA facilities after 2004.
BIISS has undertaken a research project entitled "Bangladesh Human Security Assessment 2007" in collaboration with Department for International Development (DFID), Bangladesh. The overall objective of the project has been to provide qualitative and quantitative analyses of the levels, trends and drivers of human insecurity in Bangladesh, and identify significant policy implications for Government, Donors and Civil Society in Bangladesh. Six Divisional Workshops and and 3000 HH Survey from 42 upazilas and 8 urban cities were conducted to map country-wide human insecurities in 2008.
Sponsored by the Ford Foundation, the purpose of the regional project was to catalyze mainstreaming discourses on non-traditional security (NTS) issues. With this aim in view, 10 (ten) collaborative research works were commissioned on competitive basis from the South Asian countries. Each collaborative work of individual /group research led to a book length work and ten books were published.
As a follow-up of the project, an Asia-wide NTS-Asia Network has been launched by the Raja Ratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang University of Technology, Singapore, and BIISS is a founding member of the network.
The Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies Act was re-enacted upon repealing the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies Ordinance, 1984 (Ordinance No. XXVII of 1984) because of the necessity of a law in a contemporary form.
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) launched a new Lecture Series titled Country Lecture Series with an inauguration ceremony on 25th August 2013 at BIISS auditorium, Dhaka. The first lecture in this series was delivered by H. E. Ms. Norlin Binti Othman, High Commissioner of Malaysia in Bangladesh.
During the BIMSTEC National Security Adviser/Chiefs first meeting held in New Delhi, India on 21 March 2017, decision was taken to commence a Track 1.5 BIMSTEC Security Dialogue Forum. Accordingly, the first meeting of Track 1.5 BIMSTEC Security Dialogue Forum was organized at IDSA, New Delhi, India on 22 September 2017. In continuation of the process, the second meeting of Track 1.5 BIMSTEC Security Dialogue Forum has been organized by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) on 30-31 July 2019 at BIISS auditorium.
The Dhaka Global Dialogue was hosted by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), held in 2019 as a pivotal platform to catalyse conversations around one of the most vital and dynamic political and economic geographies of the contemporary world.