Bangladesh Eyes Arms Exports as Dhaka Moves to Establish Defence Economic Zone

Reading Time: 7 minutes In a decisive move to transform Bangladesh into a regional player in the global defence industry, the government has announced plans to establish a specialised Defence Economic Zone (DEZ) as part of a broader national strategy for self-reliant military production. The initiative — recently approved by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, who currently holds the defence portfolio — signals a policy shift towards industrialising the defence sector through technology partnerships, foreign investment, and private sector participation. The proposed Defence Economic Zone, to be developed under the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) in coordination with the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), seeks to catalyse a new defence industrial ecosystem capable of producing a range of military hardware — including drones, cyber-technology systems, small arms, and munitions — for both domestic and export markets. Officials estimate the project will require long-term investments of approximately Tk15,000 crore, mobilised through