Bangladesh will give positive consideration to joining the Mecca Pact, the trilateral defence agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan , should its members propose bringing Dhaka into the framework, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman told Parliament on Thursday (August 27, 2026). The BNP-led government’s such consideration has also drawn support from the country’s main Opposition parties, including Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP).
Responding to a supplementary question from independent Member of Parliament Rumin Farhana during the third session of the 13th Parliament, Mr. Mr. Replying to another supplementary question from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, the Foreign Minister also said Bangladesh would use its presidency of the United Nations General Assembly to serve all 193 member states rather than pursue the interests of any particular country.
Rahman said Bangladesh’s accession to the pact was not currently under discussion and would depend on the intentions of the agreement’s existing signatories. “If they express interest in bringing Bangladesh into this pact, the government will certainly consider it positively,” he said. Rahman said the government viewed the agreement, struck between the three countries, as a positive development, but that the question of Bangladesh’s membership had “not yet arisen,” since no formal proposal had been extended. “The time has not yet come to weigh the pros and cons of the pact before a proposal for Bangladesh’s inclusion is made,” he said, adding that the government would take all aspects into account if and when such a proposal materialised. “We will certainly keep all these matters under consideration,” the Minister said.
Opposition parties voice support
The government’s such move draws swift endorsement from the key opposition parties. Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, said on Thursday that any decision to join the Mecca Pact is entirely Bangladesh’s own affair.
