Bangladesh on Sunday mentioned it noticed no threat in becoming a member of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, and asserted that such a transfer wouldn’t restrict Dhaka’s engagement with different companions. The assertion got here days after Overseas Minister Khalilur Rahman advised Parliament that Bangladesh would positively contemplate becoming a member of the pact if invited, and mentioned it was an inner matter of “our Muslim household” with no scope for others to be involved about it.
State Minister for Overseas Affairs Humaiun Kobir made the remarks at a media briefing on the Overseas Ministry after assembly Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdullah Zafer bin Abiyah. “This can be a distinctive pact that presents new alternatives,” Kobir advised reporters. He mentioned Bangladesh was holding discussions on the matter and that “these discussions are progressing positively with all bilateral companions”.
Kobir mentioned Bangladesh must approach foreign policy and safety cooperation “in a extremely built-in and versatile method, aligned with the dynamics of the present worldwide political system”. He added that, in keeping with this method, “we’ll steadiness our worldwide relations”. “Getting into into one particular sphere inside at the moment’s unstable or crisis-driven worldwide political local weather doesn’t imply you can not contribute to different alliances or fields. It doesn’t limit your scope,” he mentioned.
He additionally mentioned he held a sequence of bilateral conferences, together with with Saudi Overseas Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, throughout his go to to Jeddah final week, and that the pact figured in these talks. Based on Kobir, the response from his interlocutors was “optimistic, very optimistic”.
Earlier on Thursday, replying to an impartial lawmaker in Parliament, Rahman mentioned, “We view this pact positively.” He mentioned the defence treaty was an “inner matter of our household, the Muslim household” and that “there is no such thing as a scope for others to be involved about it”. Replying to a separate query by a ruling Bangladesh nationalist Occasion lawmaker, he mentioned Bangladesh now stood tall with dignity due to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s sturdy and profitable international coverage. “Bangladesh won’t ever bow its head to anybody once more — we’ve got buried the subservient international coverage,” he mentioned. Rahman added that Bangladesh had not but obtained any provide to hitch the pact, but when there was an intention to incorporate it, “we will definitely contemplate it positively”.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defence Settlement on August 7 amid rising safety issues following escalating tensions in West Asia. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the pact after the Mecca Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence at Al-Safa Palace in Mecca. A joint assertion mentioned the settlement was supposed to strengthen collective deterrence towards any act of aggression and that any armed assault towards one of many three states could be considered an assault towards all of them.
In New Delhi, India’s Exterior Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal mentioned on Friday, “We proceed to intently observe all developments having a bearing on India’s safety and take all vital steps to safeguard it.” Overseas coverage consultants and former diplomats mentioned Bangladesh’s willingness to hitch the pact marked a departure from its long-held doctrine of strict non-alignment and will complicate its international relations, notably with neighbouring India.
Former ambassador and commentator Mahfuzur Rahman mentioned the present three companions had been in navy conflicts or may very well be concerned in armed confrontations with different nations, whereas Bangladesh had little risk of dealing with such a state of affairs. “A navy accord just like the Mecca Pact may very well be essential for Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, however not important in any approach for Bangladesh,” he advised PTI. He mentioned Bangladesh may get entangled in a battle state of affairs for “no justified motive” if it joined the pact, which “has an article on collective safety”.
One other former diplomat, Humayun Kabir, who runs the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, mentioned Bangladesh had historically adopted a coverage of not becoming a member of navy pacts. “If it is a navy pact, then we’ve got to look at how the safety pursuits of all its members align with Bangladesh’s nationwide safety pursuits,” he mentioned, including that the nation would wish to grasp how the inclusion of sure nations would have an effect on its safety, financial pursuits and broader strategic pursuits. Supporters of the pact, nevertheless, mentioned the alliance would give Bangladesh strategic depth and strengthen nationwide safety. Retired navy normal Fazle Elahi Akbar, a former defence adviser to ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia who runs the Basis for Strategic and Growth Research, mentioned the argument that becoming a member of an alliance would “drag us into battle” was an “overestimation of the dangers”.
Bangladesh has but to obtain a proper provide to hitch the Mecca Joint Defence Settlement, however its leaders have mentioned they view the pact positively, whereas diplomats and analysts stay divided over what such a transfer may imply for the nation’s international and safety coverage.
With PTI Inputs
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