Recently, Bangladesh govt. announced of removing the words ‘except Israel’ from its passport. The new passport declares, “This passport is valid for all countries of the word” which was previously written as “This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel”. Dr. AK Abdul Momen, the foreign minister of Bangladesh said, “removing ‘except Israel’ from new passport doesn’t mean Bangladesh’s position changed”. He also added, “The changes have been made to maintain global standards”. From the beginning to now Bangladesh has always given support to Palestine.
‘Except Israel’ removed to maintain international Standard
To keep a clear international standard the government has made this decision. Moreover, Bangladesh believes in its foreign policy, ‘friendship to all, and malice to none’. However, Bangladesh is strict about its position and the travel ban is still on. The home minister strongly said that “Our foreign policy has not changed”. He also says they are bringing changes to ensure that the passports meet the “International standard”.
Bangladesh didn’t change its previous position
World’s third-largest Muslim country Bangladesh has always supported Palestine. People of Bangladesh have also supported Palestinians all the time. Even recently when the Israel-Palestine conflict went to its peak, people started protesting and fundraising to help the war thrashed Palestinians. So, it is almost clear that Bangladesh is not going to recognize Israel.
No link with diplomatic relations
The home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that: “Our foreign policy has not changed”. Bangladesh is not going to recognize Israel. He also said that there is no question of diplomatic relation with Israel. Moreover, Bangladesh still keeps a travel ban on Israel. According to the ministry of foreign affairs of Bangladesh, it is clear that Bangladesh is not going to recognize Israel. Again, Major General Md Ayub Chowdhury, director-general of the Department of Immigration and Passport said, “This passport has no link with the country’s diplomatic relations with any other country”.
