Bangladesh could consider joining the Mecca pact, a mutual defence agreement signed this month between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, a minister has said.
"If there is a security arrangement among Islamic nations in the Middle East, it is not unusual for us to consider participating. It is being viewed positively," said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir.
"They are inviting the leadership of Bangladesh, particularly Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, to come and participate," he told reporters on Monday.
A source in the Bangladesh foreign ministry told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had invited Dhaka to join the pact, but did not say when the invitation was made. The source sought anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.
However, when contacted, Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam told The Daily Star he is not aware of any invitation for joining the Mecca pact or any decision to join it.
The three Sunni Muslim-majority countries signed the agreement, modelled on NATO's collective-defence principle, in the Saudi holy city of Mecca this month.
They pledged that an armed attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all, amid heightened tension in the regional conflagration that has brought Iranian missile fire across the Middle East.
More than 90% of Bangladesh's population identifies as Sunni Muslim.
Asked for comment on the minister's remarks, the embassies of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in Bangladesh did not immediately respond.
Turkey, which has NATO's second-largest army, has said the pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia was open to expansion.
Analysts say joining a military alliance would test Bangladesh's long-standing foreign policy of avoiding rival geopolitical camps to help it attract investment, expand exports and maintain economic ties with competing powers.
The economy relies on exports of readymade garments, most of which go to Britain, the European Union and the United States, while remittances from millions of workers abroad, mainly in the Middle East, are a major source of foreign exchange.
Formal alliance membership could complicate Bangladesh's ties not just with India, but also China, Iran, Japan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, said geopolitical analyst Kollol Kibria.
"These relationships would not automatically break, but once Bangladesh joins a military bloc, the question of which side Bangladesh is on becomes much harder to avoid," Kibria said.
The invitation comes at a delicate moment in Bangladesh's relations with India under the six-month-old government, despite efforts by both to ensure cordial ties.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has yet to decide whether to visit India, his spokesperson said this month, as Dhaka awaits New Delhi's response to its extradition request for Sheikh Hasina. Dhaka has previously called for a "propitious environment" for such a visit after Hasina spoke to journalists in New Delhi this month, a move criticised by Bangladesh.
