DHAKA: Bangladesh has signalled it is prepared to join the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye should the founding members extend a formal invitation, in what would mark a significant realignment for a country that has long avoided rival geopolitical blocs.
Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman told parliament on Thursday that Bangladesh’s inclusion was not currently under discussion, but that Dhaka’s posture was favourable. He was responding to a question from independent MP Rumeen Farhana during the third session of the 13th parliament.
“Joining the pact or not has not come yet, as it is subjected to the intention of the parties involved in the pact. If they invite Bangladesh to join, then we will definitely consider it positively,” Rahman said. He assured the house that the government would assess the potential benefits before any decision.
He framed the arrangement in explicitly religious-communitarian terms. “More importantly, we have to keep in mind that it is the world Muslim community’s self-defence mechanism,” he said. “And this is our family’s, the Muslim family’s, internal matter. So, there is nothing for others to be concerned about.” He added that the pact could take on a broader role if more countries joined.
The foreign minister’s remarks capped a week of steadily escalating indications from Dhaka.
On Monday, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir — appointed only days earlier, and a former adviser to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman — told reporters that Bangladesh hoped to “respond positively” to the pact. “We are interested in the Mecca Defence Pact matter. After the government was formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, we were informed about joining various agreements in different places, and we are moving forward accordingly,” he said.
He returned to the subject the following day. “We have expressed our interest in the Makkah Defence pact. Bangladesh is now a country of recognition. The partners in West Asia, the partners in the Muslim world around the globe are now inviting the leadership of Bangladesh, especially the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, to be with them in many places,” Kabir said. “If there is a security agreement between Islamic countries, then it is not unusual to go there. Let’s see. The matter is being viewed positively.”
Kabir described Dhaka’s approach as a “Bangladesh First” foreign policy with national interests at its core, and said Bangladesh was strengthening bilateral working relations with Pakistan through normal diplomatic engagement focused on trade and people-to-people connectivity.
Opposition leader and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman backed the government’s room to manoeuvre, writing on Thursday that joining the pact was Bangladesh’s “own decision.” He added: “If Bangladesh takes a decision in the interests and needs of the country and nation, no one else needs to worry about it.”
The debate is unfolding under a government only months old. Bangladesh held its 13th general election on February 12, 2026 — the first since the 2024 student-led uprising that ended Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Tarique Rahman, secured a two-thirds majority. Jamaat-e-Islami recorded its best-ever performance and became the main opposition. Hasina’s Awami League was barred from contesting.
The Election Commission reported turnout of 59.88 per cent in what it described as one of the most peaceful and credible elections in decades. Voters simultaneously cast a second ballot on the July National Charter, the reform blueprint drafted under the caretaker government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus; 60.26 per cent voted in favour.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed on August 7 at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It stipulates that an armed attack on any signatory will be treated as an attack on all three. Türkiye has said the pact is open to expansion and expects Egypt to join “in the next stage.” It has been welcomed by the United States, Bahrain and Somalia.
Diplomatic sources say Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has invited Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to Saudi Arabia, with a visit expected around October.
Analysts caution the decision is not straightforward. Bangladesh’s economy depends on readymade garment exports to Britain, the European Union and the United States, and on remittances from millions of workers abroad — most of them in the Middle East. Joining a military alliance would test a long-standing policy of avoiding rival camps. India’s foreign ministry said it was closely following developments in West Asia; analysts widely expect New Delhi to be unenthusiastic about Bangladeshi membership of a bloc that includes Pakistan.
The embassies of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan in Dhaka did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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