Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said Bangladesh’s position towards Israel has not changed as it still does not recognize Israel.
Momen said removing the words like ”valid for traveling except Israel” in the new passport does not mean that there has been a change in Bangladesh’s position.
Dr Momen made the remarks when his comment was sought on media reports in this regard.
The Foreign Minister said Home Ministry saw many passports of other countries around six months ago when new passports were ordered for Bangladesh.
”No passport contains such words which is true. The changes have been made to maintain the global standards,” he added.
Passport is a national identity and it does not reflect foreign policy, said the Foreign Minister.
Earlier, Deputy Director-General for Asia and the Pacific at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Gilad Cohen tweeted saying Bangladesh has removed the travel ban to Israel.
“Great news! Bangladesh has removed travel ban to Israel. This is a welcome step and I call on the Bangladeshi government to move forward and establish diplomatic ties with Israel so both our peoples could benefit and prosper,” he tweeted.
Bangladesh has ruled out it keeping its position unchanged.
