Dhaka open to Mecca pact if invited

Bangladesh will positively consider joining the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement if formally invited by its existing members – Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan – Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said on Thursday, signalling Dhaka’s openness to the emerging defence cooperation framework.
“This pact has been made among three countries. We view this pact positively. The question of joining it has not yet arisen because that depends on the intentions of the countries that are members of the pact,” he said during the question-answer session in parliament.
He, however, said Bangladesh had not yet received any proposal to join the agreement.
Independent MP Rumeen Farhana asked what benefits Bangladesh could gain by joining the pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan on 7 August.
In response, Khalilur said Dhaka viewed the agreement positively, but any decision on joining would depend on the existing members.
“If they express an interest in bringing Bangladesh into the pact, then we will certainly consider it positively,” he said.
The foreign minister said it was too early to assess the potential benefits and drawbacks of Bangladesh joining the agreement, adding that all relevant aspects would be considered if the issue arose.
“The time has probably not yet come to discuss its merits and demerits. We will certainly take all these issues into consideration,” Khalilur said.
He said the pact, if expanded, could eventually serve as a mechanism for the “self-defence of the global Muslim community”.
“This is an internal matter of our Muslim family. Therefore, others have no scope to be concerned about it,” he said.

‘Bangladesh will never bow down’
Replying to another question, Khalilur said Bangladesh would no longer pursue a subservient foreign policy and would “never bow down to anyone again”.
“Surely, you have noticed that today we are standing upright with our heads held high because of the strong and successful foreign policy of our honourable Prime Minister. Under the leadership of our Prime Minister, we will carry this foreign policy forward, and Bangladesh will never bow down to anyone again. We have consigned the policy of subservient diplomacy to the grave,” he said in response to a supplementary question from Naogaon-3 lawmaker Md Fazle Huda.
Referring to the previous Awami League regime, he said much of Bangladesh’s foreign policy had not been under the country’s control during its 15 years in power, while the government had shown little interest in the activities of its embassies.
“We have moved away from that situation. We are developing key performance indicators (KPIs) for each embassy. Based on these, we will assess the core activities of every embassy,” he said.
“When we present the next budget to you, you will receive all the relevant information. You have the right to know this information,” he added.