Sending troops not mandatory

In an apparent effort to remove confusion over sending troops to the Saudi-led alliance to combat terrorism, Dhaka yesterday reiterated its position and said nothing is mandatory for 34 member states.

“This is not a military alliance rather a centre for cooperation among member states. Cooperation will be extended voluntarily. Nothing is mandatory,” Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told reporters at a press conference in the ministry ahead of the prime minister's visit to Saudi Arabia.

He said the centre consisted of two tracks -- political and security -- and the second one was military track.

The minister said sending troops is mandatory for any military alliance but since this is a centre, it was not mandatory to send troops.

Mahmood Ali briefly described how the cooperation would be extended under the centre through two tracks and a member can even avoid meeting and remain silent on a particular issue.

A questioner asked whether Bangladesh would respond positively if Saudi Arabia, being a friend of Bangladesh, wanted military cooperation for the centre.

In response, the minister said, “It's still evolving. We will see. Things are optional.”

Bangladesh, however, will consider sending troops to Saudi Arabia only if UN Security Council approved it.

The members of the centre are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Palestinians, Qatar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The press conference was organised to brief the media about the prime minister's visit.

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and senior officials of the ministry were present.

PM'S VISIT TO SAUDI ARABIA

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leaves for Saudi Arabia on Friday on a five-day visit to the Kingdom to further expand relations between the two countries with special focus on trade, investment and manpower export.

The two countries are likely to sign a number of instruments, including memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Foreign Office Consultation, cultural and technological cooperation, said the foreign minister.

“One of the objectives of the visit is to create new avenues of cooperation,” Mahmood Ali told reporters.

The visit is taking place at the invitation of the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

During her visit, Hasina will hold a bilateral meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Jeddah on June 5, and discuss bilateral, regional and international issues.

The PM will perform Umrah on Friday night.

Asked whether Bangladesh is expecting full reopening of manpower market in Saudi Arabia, the foreign minister said, “Let's go there first and discuss.”

Foreign Secretary Haque added, “We are hopeful.”

The PM will return home on June 7.