'Positive approach': Bangladesh ministers on possibility of joining Mecca pact

Bangladesh maintains a positive approach towards joining the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, two junior ministers have said, while stressing that any decision would be guided by the country’s national interests.Signed in Saudi Arabia’s Mecca on August 7, the pact establishes a framework for collective deterrence and stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three.Humayun Kobir, Bangladesh's newly appointed state minister for foreign affairs, told state-run BSS that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party government is pursuing a “Bangladesh First” policy and a “balanced foreign policy with national interests at its core”, which could lead Dhaka to join the defence pact.“Bangladesh maintains a positive approach towards the possibility of joining an economic or defence framework involving Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, taking into account its own interests and the changing dynamics of the global economy and trade,” Kobir said.He further stated that Dhaka would also strengthen bilateral ties with Islamabad through normal diplomatic engagement, with a focus on trade and people-to-people connectivity. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is expected to visit Riyadh at the invitation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the tour schedule is likely to be finalised after the summer, he added.Another state minister for foreign affairs, Shama Obaed Islam, in a separate media interaction, supplemented Kobir’s comments, saying Bangladesh's national interest and the interests of its people would determine Dhaka’s stance on joining the agreement.“Whether we join any pact or any multilateral body will be decided primarily on whether Bangladesh's interests and the interests of the Bangladeshi people are protected.”The two junior ministers’ comments came two days after PM Rahman’s finance and planning adviser, Professor Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir, described the government's “Bangladesh First” policy as a “paradigm shift” in the country’s foreign policy.