Dhaka/New Delhi: India is maintaining close watch on the situation as Bangladesh moves forward in its efforts to join the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.
While Bangladesh has maintained that its relations with other countries will not be affected by its joining the group, sources in New Delhi have flagged security concerns.
“This is a unique pact that presents new opportunities,” Bangladesh’s state minister for foreign affairs Humaiun Kobir told reporters after meeting Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh Abdullah Zafer bin Abiyah.
He said Bangladesh was discussing the issue and that “those discussions are progressing positively with all bilateral partners”.
Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman had earlier told his country’s parliament that Dhaka would positively consider joining the agreement if it received an invitation. He had described the pact as an internal matter of “our Muslim family” and said there was no reason for others to be concerned about it.
Bangladesh needed to frame its foreign policy and security cooperation “in a highly integrated and flexible manner, aligned with the dynamics of the current international political system”, Kobir said.
“We will balance our international relations,” he said.
“Entering into one specific sphere within today’s volatile or crisis-driven international political climate does not mean you cannot contribute to other alliances or fields. It does not restrict your scope,” Kobir said.
He also spoke about his visit to Jeddah last week, during which he held several bilateral meetings, including one with Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The Mecca pact was discussed during those meetings, he said, adding that the response from his counterparts was “positive, very positive”, as reported by News18.
Khalilur Rahman had said on Thursday that Bangladesh had gained dignity because of prime minister Tarique Rahman’s strong and successful foreign policy.
“Bangladesh will never bow its head to anyone again – we have buried the subservient foreign policy,” he said.
While saying that Bangladesh had not received a formal invitation to join the pact, he added that if there was an intention to include Bangladesh, “we will certainly consider it positively”.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on August 7 amid rising security concerns linked to escalating tensions in West Asia.
Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the agreement following the Mecca Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence at Al-Safa Palace in Mecca.
The pact was aimed at strengthening collective deterrence against aggression, a joint statement said. It also stated that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be treated as an attack against all three.
On Friday, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “We continue to closely follow all developments having a bearing on India’s security and take all necessary steps to safeguard it.”
Bangladesh’s willingness to join the pact could represent a shift from its longstanding policy of strict non-alignment, foreign policy experts and former diplomats have said. They also said such a move could make Dhaka’s relations with neighbouring India more complicated.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey were either involved in military conflicts or could face armed confrontations with other countries, while Bangladesh was unlikely to encounter a similar situation, former ambassador and commentator Mahfuzur Rahman said.
“A military accord like the Mecca Pact could be important for Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, but not essential in any way for Bangladesh,” he told PTI.
Bangladesh could potentially be drawn into a war “for no justified reason” if it became part of the pact, which “has an article on collective security”, he warned.
Dhaka had traditionally avoided joining military alliances, former diplomat Humayun Kabir, who heads the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, said.
“If this is a military pact, then we have to examine how the security interests of all its members align with Bangladesh’s national security interests,” he said.
Bangladesh would have to assess how the participation of particular countries could affect its security, economic interests and wider strategic interests, Kabir said.
