Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Sunday said that “positive dialogue” was underway regarding Dhaka joining the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, reported Prothom Alo.The agreement was signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye on August 6 to strengthen “collective deterrence”. It states that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be considered an attack against all.The agreement had come against the backdrop of heightened tensions in West Asia amid the war involving Iran, Israel and the United States.On August 11, India said that it was examining the implications of the agreement from the perspective of “national security as well as considerations of regional, peace and stability”.Kobir said on Sunday that Bangladesh sees no risk in joining the pact, reported The Daily Star.The pact brings together three Sunni Muslim-majority countries. Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest oil exporters and home to Islam’s holiest sites. Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority country, while Türkiye has the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s second-largest military.In view of this, Kobir said that Dhaka views the pact positively “within the broader context of addressing challenges facing the Islamic world”, reported Prothom Alo.“When we receive a formal invitation, we will inform you,” he was quoted as saying. “However, discussions are ongoing. Positive dialogue is taking place with all parties involved, including our bilateral partners.”He said that Bangladesh must approach foreign policy and security cooperation in a “very integrated and flexible” manner. With the pact, Dhaka will “balance our international relations”, added Kobir.Strained ties between New Delhi, DhakaKobir’s statements came amid strained ties between India and Bangladesh, as uncertainty continues surrounding Dhaka’s demand for New Delhi to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.On August 21, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s office told PTI that Dhaka has yet to decide whether he will visit India next month.Bangladesh has received two invitations from India. One is from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bilateral visit, while the other is for Rahman, in his capacity as chairperson of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation to attend the BRICS summit.The summit will be held in New Delhi on September 12 and September 13.The BRICS grouping comprises India, Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Washington views the group as attempting to become an economic counterweight to the US.Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.