Bangladesh to 'positively' consider joining Makkah pact if invited: foreign minister

Bangladesh to 'positively' consider joining Makkah pact if invited: foreign minister.

Key points

• Anadolu Agency Published August 27, 2026 Updated August 27, 2026 09: 58pm.
• Separately, opposition leader and Bangladesh Jamaat-I-Islami Ameer (chief) Shafiqur Rahman remarked on Thursday that joining the Makkah Pact was Bangladesh's "own decision."
• In January, Reuters quoted Defence Production Minister Raza Hayat Harraj as saying that a draft had been prepared after 10 months of discussions.
• Earlier this week, Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir remarked Dhaka had expressed interest in joining the pact.
• Bangladesh would consider joining the Makkah Pact "positively" if invited by founding members, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman informed parliament on Thursday.

Anadolu Agency Published August 27, 2026 Updated August 27, 2026 09: 58pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

As it is subjected to the intention of the parties involved in the pact, "Joining the pact or not has not come yet. If they invite Bangladesh to join, then we will definitely consider it positively, " the foreign minister remarked, assuring parliament that Dhaka would assess the potential benefits before making any decision to join.

"More importantly, we have to keep in mind that it is the Muslim world's self-defence mechanism, " he continued. "And this is our family's, the Muslim family's, internal matter. So, there is nothing for others to be concerned regarding."

"If Bangladesh takes a decision in the interests and needs of the country and nation, no one else needs to worry about it, " he remarked in an official note on Facebook.

"If there is one in West Asia, if there is a security agreement between Islamic countries, then it is not unusual to go there. Let's see. The matter is being viewed positively, " remarked Kabir.

Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the joint defence agreement at a trilateral summit in Makkah on August 7, pledging to strengthen collective security, deepen defence cooperation and promote peace and stability in the region and beyond.

For context, the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the summit at Al-Safa Palace.

For context, the tripartite pact empowers member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them, and reflects their "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".

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had already signed the "Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement" in Riyadh last September, pledging that any attack on either nation would be treated as an act of aggression against both.

In January, Reuters quoted Defence Production Minister Raza Hayat Harraj as saying that a draft had been prepared after 10 months of discussions. Turkish FM Hakan Fidan had remarked Ankara favoured an "inclusive platform that creates wider, bigger cooperation and stability".

Meanwhile, the pact has been welcomed by the United States, Bahrain and Somalia, with Turkiye expecting Egypt to join the pact "in the next stage".

Taken together, the developments around bangladesh to ' positively' consider joining Makkah pact if invited: foreign minister point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.