MoFA not consulted while dropping ‘except Israel’ from e-passports: Momen

Former foreign minister AK Abdul Momen today said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not consulted while removing the words "except Israel" from the e-passport.

He, however, said Bangladesh's position regarding Israel remains unchanged.

"I was foreign minister at that time. I was not consulted, even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not consulted," he said while responding to a question, noting that the Ministry of Home Affairs looks into the passport matters.

Bangladeshi passports now do not bear the text -- "valid for all countries of the world except Israel".

Momen, also the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on foreign ministry, said Bangladesh does not have any commercial relations with Israel.

He was responding to questions at a public parliament debate contest at FDC, organised by Debate for Democracy with its chairman, Hassan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron, in the chair.

The topic of the debate was "United efforts by the Muslim world can help stop Israeli aggression in Palestine".

The State University of Bangladesh and Kabi Nazrul Government College debated on the topic.

The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was drawn to a message on X issued from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel welcoming the removal of a ban on travel to Israel on e-passports issued by Bangladesh in 2021.

Momen said they were told that the removal of the observation was done to maintain the international standard of Bangladeshi e-passports.

The MoFA at that time said it did not imply any change in Bangladesh's foreign policy towards the Middle East.

The ban on travel of Bangladeshi passport holders to Israel remains unchanged, according to the MoFA.

The government of Bangladesh has not deviated from its position on Israel and Bangladesh remains firm on its longstanding position in this regard.

The government of Bangladesh has always condemned the atrocities inflicted upon civilians by the occupation forces of Israel in the al-Aqsa mosque compound and Gaza.

Bangladesh reiterates its principled position concerning the two-state solution of the Palestine-Israel conflict in light of the UN resolutions recognising pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine.

Speaking as chief guest, Momen said unity among the Muslim countries could play a supportive role but laid emphasis on engaging with the Western world with intensified negotiations.

He said the UN has no power as an organisation as such as things depend on the willingness of the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

"We have to make these five countries -- China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States -- understand. We need to make the US understand their own interest and the interest of humanity," Momen said.

Momen said there is a need for collective international efforts instead of lip services to ensure that genocide is stopped, and human rights and dignity are protected.