Bangladesh is considering joining the Mecca Pact, a new defence agreement involving Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan, with growing support for the move emerging within the country.
The development follows a meeting between Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Jeddah on Thursday. Sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had invited Bangladesh to join the pact, although the timing of the invitation was not disclosed.
Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry statement on the meeting did not mention the pact. It said the two sides discussed strengthening bilateral ties, economic cooperation, Saudi investment in Bangladesh and the contribution of Bangladeshi expatriates to the Kingdom.
Kabir also met Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Musa Kulaklikaya, with the two sides discussing regional developments and expanding economic and defence cooperation.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed on August 7 by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan. According to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, it establishes a collective defence framework under which an armed attack against one member would be treated as an attack against all three.
Bangladesh's opposition leader and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman welcomed the possibility of joining the pact, saying the decision would be a sovereign matter for Bangladesh and that other countries should not be concerned by it.
The prospect of Bangladesh joining the agreement is likely to raise concerns in India, given Pakistan's inclusion in the pact and Turkiye's close ties with Islamabad. India has also previously expressed concerns over growing Pakistan-Bangladesh engagement.
Foreign policy analysts say joining the pact could also be seen as a shift from Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's stated approach of putting Bangladesh's interests first rather than aligning with either New Delhi or Islamabad.