Former Bangladesh foreign minister regrets removing "except Israel" clause from passports

​​​​​​​DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Former Foreign Minister Abdul Momen rued a decision Friday to remove the "except Israel ''clause from passports in Bangladesh.

The seasoned diplomat who headed the Foreign Ministry in the ruling Awami League government’s last term from 2019 - 2023, told a public forum he was in the dark about the removal process.

"Despite being the foreign minister at the time, neither I, nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were consulted," he said, pointing out that passport-related issues are handled by the Home Ministry.

Older Bangladeshi passports used to bear the sentence: “This passport is valid for all the countries of the world except Israel."

But the new e-passports that the Passport Office started issuing in March 2021 suddenly dropped the clause without any announcement.

That move to remove the clause shocked Bangladeshis and drew public outcry at that time.

Momen said when he asked the Home Ministry for the reason behind the move, he was given a strange answer. “I was told that a German firm (which was consulted for the e-passport facility) did that to elevate the quality of the passport and to cut costs,” he said.

The development came to light after Gilad Cohen, deputy director-general for Asia and the Pacific at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, tweeted in early April 2021 that Bangladesh had lifted its travel ban on Israel.

“Great news! Bangladesh has removed a 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.

The Bangladesh government, however, vehemently denied plans to establish ties with Israel and said its position toward Israel remains unchanged.

A Foreign Ministry official, who preferred to be unnamed, told Anadolu that the government has not deviated from its position on Israel and has always condemned the atrocities inflicted upon civilians living in the occupied territories in Israel by Israeli forces.