Troops will be sent, if necessary

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has assured the Saudi authorities that Bangladesh, if necessary, will send troops to protect the two holy sites of the Muslims -- Makkah and Madinah.

“The prime minister told spontaneously [the Saudi authorities] that if any alliance is formed to protect these two holy sites, the Bangladesh Army will join that alliance,” Cabinet Secretary M Shafiul Alam told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.

“This is the prime minister's pledge,” he said while replying to a query if any discussion was held about Bangladesh's possibility of joining the current Saudi-led military alliance.  

The meeting was held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, while the briefing was held at the secretariat. The PM apprised her cabinet colleagues of the outcome of her recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

The cabinet secretary said during the PM's KSA visit, she held bilateral talks with the Saudi king, nine of his cabinet colleagues and chiefs of different organisations.

He said the Saudi businessmen expressed their interest to invest in Bangladesh during the trip.

Besides, from now on, Bangladeshi female workers will be able to take their families to the KSA and live in a family environment, and they will also be able to change their jobs. Before the PM's visit, the workers did not get these facilities, said Alam.   

The cabinet adopted a resolution greeting the PM for becoming as one of the world's most powerful women in 2016. Hasina ranked 36th on the 2016 Power Women list of Forbes magazine published on June 6.

It also approved the draft Bangladesh National Cadet Corps Act-2016 to bring BNCC under a legal framework. As per the law, there will be a separate directorate of the BNCC under the defense ministry.