Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman today said Bangladesh would positively consider joining the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement if invited by the pact’s members.

The defence pact among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey came into force on August 7. Under the agreement, an armed attack on any one member would be considered an attack on all.

“We view this pact positively,” Khalilur said in response to a supplementary question from independent MP Rumeen Farhana during a question-and-answer session in parliament this afternoon.

He said the question of Bangladesh joining the pact, or considering membership, had not yet arisen, as that would depend on the intentions of its current members.

“If they express an intention to include Bangladesh in the pact, we will certainly consider it positively,” he added.

Khalilur said it would be premature to discuss the pros and cons of Bangladesh joining the pact, as the issue had not yet reached that stage.

“We will, of course, keep all these matters under consideration. However, we must remember one thing -- if this pact expands, it will serve as a system of self-defence for the global Muslim community,” the foreign minister said.

“And this is an internal matter of our family, the Muslim family. Therefore, there is no scope for others to be concerned about it,” he added.