Dhaka dismisses talk of new alliance with China, Pakistan

NN Online :
Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Thursday dismissed speculation about a new trilateral alliance between Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan, clarifying that a recent meeting between the three countries was held only at the official level and had no political intent.

“We are not forming any alliance,” Hossain told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “It was a routine meeting, not aimed at targeting any third party, especially not our neighbor India.”

The informal meeting took place on June 19 on the sidelines of the 9th China-South Asia Exposition and the 6th China-South Asia Cooperation Forum in Kunming, China.

While Beijing described the meeting as an extensive discussion on trilateral cooperation based on mutual trust and shared development, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry termed it the “inaugural meeting of the Bangladesh-China-Pakistan trilateral mechanism.”

Responding to those descriptions, Adviser Hossain clarified that while Dhaka does not deny the meeting, “it was not something structured or significant enough to draw such conclusions.” He emphasized that the discussion mainly focused on connectivity and cooperation and was not part of any formal strategic framework.

When asked about the potential for future trilateral engagements, Hossain said there’s “nothing wrong” with countries exploring regional dialogue formats. “If India, for example, wants a trilateral meeting with Bangladesh and Nepal, we’re open to it,” he added.

He also mentioned that Bangladesh’s relationship with India is currently in a phase of “readjustment,” and reaffirmed that Dhaka remains committed to maintaining goodwill and constructive dialogue with New Delhi.