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Bangladesh is considering joining the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement involving Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye, state minister for foreign affairs Shama Obaed said in an interview with a private television channel.
She said the government would assess whether joining the pact would serve Bangladesh's national and economic interests and benefit its people.
‘Global politics has become such that now every country is joining a larger alliance. Like we have SAARC, BIMSTEC, the Indo-Pacific, the Quad, and BRICS. There are different alliances all over the world.’
She said the Mecca Pact emerged from concerns over regional security and that its central provision was collective defence.
‘The Mecca Pact, I think, in the post-war period, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, they are very... thinking about regional security... that made a defence pact whose first point is that if any one country is attacked, it will be assumed that three countries have been attacked.’
Describing the nature of the agreement, she said it was intended to protect the economies and people of the member countries and was open to other interested countries.
‘Basically, it is a security pact to protect the country's economy and people. And it's open to all who are interested in joining.’
Asked whether Bangladesh would join the pact, Shama said the government was considering the matter and would first assess the potential benefits for the country.
‘In response to whether Bangladesh will join or not, [I would say] the Bangladesh government is considering it. But first of all, from Bangladesh's policy, if we think that joining the pact will benefit Bangladesh more.’
She then pointed to the possible economic and employment benefits of joining the agreement, as well as Bangladesh's close relations with Türkiye and Saudi Arabia.
‘It will benefit our economy. It will create employment for us. You know that we have very close relations with Turkey. Recently, high-level delegates from Turkey visited. We have very deep relations with Saudi Arabia. Around 4 million Bangladeshis are working there.’
She said these existing ties would be taken into account, but stressed that the final decision would depend on what Bangladesh stood to gain from the agreement.
‘So, judging from that point, Bangladesh will consider it [joining the pact]. But again, the final decision would depend on what we will gain from the agreement. If we think that our gain is heavy, our benefit will be more, the benefit will be for the people of the country, then, of course, the government will take a decision accordingly.’
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that Shama spoke ‘about various important issues’ during the interview.
Her remarks came amid growing speculation over Bangladesh's possible participation in the Mecca Pact, which was signed in the Saudi city on August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The agreement commits the three countries to collective defence, with an armed attack against any one of them to be regarded as an attack against all three. The pact is described by its signatories as defensive and aimed at strengthening collective security and regional stability.
The agreement is also open to other countries, according to officials from the signatory states. Türkiye has said the pact is not intended as an alternative or rival to NATO, while the three countries are expected to establish mechanisms for greater coordination among their foreign and defence ministries and military chiefs.
Bangladesh's possible participation has drawn attention because of its close ties with all three signatories, particularly Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. Around four million Bangladeshis work in Saudi Arabia, while Türkiye has developed close economic, defence and diplomatic ties with Bangladesh.
A senior Bangladeshi diplomat, Humayun Kabir, said on Monday that Bangladesh had expressed interest in the pact and that the matter was being viewed positively.
However, Shama's remarks indicate that Dhaka is weighing the possible economic and national-interest implications before making a final decision. She specifically pointed to employment, economic benefits and Bangladesh's existing relations with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye as factors in the government's consideration.
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