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The promises and pitfalls of the Makkah Pact for Bangladesh

As Bangladesh mulls joining Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia’s in their collective defence deal, it risks a fallout in its relationship with India

By Maruf Hasan
The promises and pitfalls of the Makkah Pact for Bangladesh
Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, the Chief of Air Staff of the Bangladesh Air Force, meets Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at Pakistan Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi in January 2026. Dhaka publicly expressed interest in joining the Makkah Pact, a joint defence agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, which could further strain its relationship with New Delhi. Photo: Instagram/ISPR
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ON 7 AUGUST, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed a joint defence agreement in Makkah, one of the holiest cities in Islam. Under the pact, an armed attack on any one of the three countries is to be treated as an attack on all three. The agreement is based on the principle of collective defence, leading some to describe it as a “Muslim NATO”.

Within weeks of its signing, Dhaka publicly expressed interest in joining the pact. Humaiun Kobir, Bangladesh’s state minister for foreign affairs, told reporters, “They are inviting the leadership of Bangladesh, particularly Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, to come and participate.” The foreign minister, Khalilur Rahman, told parliament towards the end of the month that if the pact’s member states expressed a desire to include Bangladesh, Dhaka would consider the matter “positively”. He also said that Bangladesh had not received any formal proposal yet.

Many in Pakistan view this as a great defence and diplomatic opportunity for Bangladesh. Abu Rushd, the president of the think tank Institute of Strategy and Tactics Research (ISTR) and a former military officer and security analyst, said that Bangladesh joining the Makkah Pact, whether as a full member or an observer, could benefit the country. He argued that a nation with limited resources would find it difficult to build major defence infrastructure on its own, and that cooperation with friendly countries could strengthen Bangladesh’s security capabilities. “Bangladesh needs a security umbrella,” he said.

But others point out that Bangladesh has already made defence agreements with countries like Pakistan, China and Türkiye to enhance its defence capabilities, and remain wary of Bangladesh’s obligations under the pact – in particular, of whether it could drag the country into conflicts not of its making or in its interest. “We do not even know the clauses of the Makkah Pact yet,” Amena Mohsin, a professor at the department of international relations at the University of Dhaka, said. “Without knowing them, we cannot even tell what we are getting ourselves into.”