DHAKA ( WNAM MONITORING): A discussion is underway in Bangladesh on the potential of joining the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, officials say, citing a “positive position” toward a framework involving Saudi Arabia.
The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement is a new defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, which was signed in Makkah on Aug. 7, 2026, by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The pact joins three main military powers in the region. Pakistan has the world’s fourth-largest active-duty military personnel and is the Muslim world’s only nuclear-armed country. Saudi Arabia has substantial economic resources, regional influence, and defense infrastructure, while Turkiye is a NATO member with a large military and domestic defense industry.
One of the main provisions of the framework is a collective-defense commitment, stipulating that “any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” according to statements released by the three sides, which have also signaled openness to additional members.
The possibility of Bangladesh joining the pact has been making the rounds in local and regional media over the past few days, but “there is no policy-level decision yet,” Shama Obaed, state minister for foreign affairs, told Arab News on Sunday.
“There is no decision yet but, of course, there is a discussion in this regard,” she said. “There is a discussion ongoing.”
Media reports on the possibility started over the weekend, when Humayun Kabir, the prime minister’s foreign affairs adviser, who on Monday assumed the role of state minister for foreign affairs dealing with bilateral and multilateral affairs, spoke to the state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
Kabir said that Bangladesh is “taking a positive position on joining a potential economic or defense framework involving Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey to support the global economy and trade, while taking into account its own national interests.”
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to make his first official visit to Riyadh in October, on the invitation of the Saudi crown prince.
Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji was in Dhaka earlier this month amid preparations for the visit and paid a courtesy call on the prime minister.
“Both sides agreed to take the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia to a new height,” the Prime Minister’s Office said after the meeting.
Bangladesh, which has close relations with Saudi Arabia, is by population the third-largest Muslim-majority country.
It has about 204,000 active military personnel, making it one of Asia’s largest armed forces by manpower.
