Bangladesh First

Bangladesh should undertake thorough diplomatic preparations, build national consensus and conduct a comprehensive assessment of the potential benefits and risks before deciding whether to join the proposed “Mecca Defence Pact”, security and international relations experts said on Monday.

They also called for strengthening the country’s military capabilities, defence technology, intelligence capacity and independence in security and diplomatic decision-making, stressing that any new defence partnership must serve Bangladesh’s national interests.

The observations came at a roundtable titled “Bangladesh’s Possible Joining of the Mecca Defence Pact: Strategic National Security Calculations”, organised by Voice for Reform in Dhaka’s Kawran Bazar on Monday.

Major General (retd) Fazle Elahi Akbar said Bangladesh needed greater autonomy in security and diplomatic decisions, although rapidly expanding its military capabilities was not realistic.

Instead, Dhaka could deepen defence cooperation with friendly countries such as Saudi Arabia and Türkiye through joint training, military technology and intelligence sharing, he said.

Bangladesh could benefit from Türkiye’s military technology while simultaneously developing its own capacity to manufacture defence equipment, Akbar said.

Membership of the pact could also open opportunities for economic cooperation and help Bangladesh pursue solutions to the Rohingya issue, he added.

Former diplomat Saquib Ali urged the government to carry out a thorough cost-benefit analysis before joining the alliance.

Bangladesh should not regard the pact as a “shortcut solution” to its security challenges simply because of public sentiment, he said.

Any decision taken without a clear understanding of the pact’s terms and obligations could create new questions and risks for the country.

Saquib said military capacity could not be strengthened simply by joining another alliance. Policymakers should also assess how other countries might respond, drawing on Bangladesh’s experience in dealing with its neighbours.

Brigadier General (retd) Hasan Nasir said Bangladesh had limited scope to rapidly expand its military capabilities and therefore needed security partnerships with friendly countries that would stand by it during a crisis.

Alongside Saudi support, Bangladesh could benefit from Türkiye’s military technology, training and joint exercises, he said, while developing domestic defence manufacturing should remain a priority.

Bangladesh should place its national interests above concerns about how Pakistan or any other country might react when determining its foreign and security relationships, Nasir said.

At the same time, he cautioned that the Mecca Pact should not evolve into a large but ineffective framework.

Professor Shahab Enam Khan of Jahangirnagar University’s Department of International Relations said the proposed pact could offer Bangladesh both military and diplomatic opportunities.

Bangladesh could contribute its human resources and technical expertise, while cooperation with Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan could create opportunities to develop capabilities in air defence and electronic warfare, he said.

However, the effectiveness of such cooperation would depend largely on Bangladesh’s diplomatic capacity, Shahab said.

Policymakers would also need to take into account South Asia’s complex geopolitical environment, the political stability of member states and their existing links with Western military systems, he added.

Former US diplomat Jon F Danilowicz described the Mecca Pact as essentially a defensive alliance intended to prevent conflict and provide collective security among its members.

Such arrangements are permissible under the UN Charter, he said.

Referring to misconceptions surrounding NATO’s Article 5, Danilowicz said an attack on one member did not automatically mean that other members would go to war.

Each member would decide how to respond if assistance were requested.
Similarly, members of the Mecca Pact would retain their sovereign decision-making powers, he said.

For Bangladesh, joining the pact would represent an important test of its ability to balance security cooperation with strategic autonomy.

Speakers said Dhaka should therefore ensure that any decision is based on a clear assessment of national interests, diplomatic consequences and long-term security requirements, while strengthening the country’s own national security decision-making framework.