DHAKA (Kashmir English): Bangladesh has indicated its intention to join the MECCA joint defense agreement between Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia.
According to Bangladeshi news agency BSC, Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir said in an interview that Bangladesh is positive about the possibility of joining the economic or defense framework of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey.
Humayun Kabir said that the government is pursuing a balanced foreign policy under its “Bangladesh First” policy, in which national interests are central.
He said that in this matter, Bangladesh will take into account national interests, the changing situation in the global economy and trade, and is strengthening bilateral practical relations with Pakistan under normal diplomatic activities.
He added that they are working to increase trade with Pakistan and people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
Bangladeshi media say that Prime Minister Tariq Rahman will visit Saudi Arabia soon at the invitation of the Saudi Crown Prince.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey sign mutual MECCA Joint Defense Agreement
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye on Friday signed a joint defence pact, called the “MECCA Joint Defence Agreement”, stipulating that any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all.
In a press release, the Foreign Office spokesperson said, “Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman, President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Makkah.”
The joint defence agreement reflects the “three States’ shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security” and to promoting peace, security, and stability in the region and beyond, in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future.
“The agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” it added.
The agreement also provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three countries, the FO statement added.
The agreement is “guided by the longstanding historical ties among the three states, based on the enduring bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity that unite them, and building upon their shared strategic interests and longstanding defence cooperation”.
Earlier, at the “gracious invitation” of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Turkish President Erdoğan and PM Shehbaz Sharif paid a visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and held a Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence today.
During the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence, the distinguished relations between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan were reviewed, along with a number of issues of mutual interest.
The agreement ties together Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed Muslim country; Saudi Arabia, the home to Islam’s holiest sites and one of the world’s top oil exporters; and Turkiye, Nato’s second-largest military.
It comes in the backdrop of the US-Israel war on Iran, the tensions from which have expanded to the Middle East and the Gulf region in recent weeks.
The agreement comes a year after Pakistan signed a mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia, committing both sides to treat any aggression against either country as an attack on both.
