KARACHI (The Thursday Times) — Bangladesh joining the Makkah Pact could extend the alliance’s reach to South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, a senior Bangladeshi diplomat said in Karachi, in a rare public signal of interest from Dhaka in the defence agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
“Reconsidering Bangladesh’s membership to the Makkah Pact could benefit the current members by extending the pact’s geographic reach up to South Asia,” Muhammad Sakib Sadakat, Bangladesh’s Deputy High Commissioner in Karachi, told a seminar on Pakistan-Bangladesh economic ties organised by the Economic Diplomacy Forum, Business Recorder reported.
He said Bangladesh’s participation would broaden the pact’s presence beyond the Gulf and strengthen it as a wider cooperation framework rather than a three-country bloc. Bangladesh, among the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping missions, could contribute to joint training, coordination and defence-industry links, he said.
‘Regional peace initiatives’
Sadakat said Bangladesh deeply appreciated recent regional peace initiatives involving Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir. The Makkah Defence Agreement was signed on August 7, and its members met Iran’s leadership in Tehran on Monday.
Trade and investment
The diplomat also pointed to opportunities for businesses in both countries in textiles and garments, cotton and yarn, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food, chemicals, jute, leather goods, information technology, tourism and medical services, and for Pakistani investment in Bangladesh’s manufacturing, construction, banking, fintech, food processing and education sectors. Relations between Islamabad and Dhaka have warmed markedly over the past two years, with the two sides agreeing in principle on visa-free entry for official passport holders.
