A mutual defense pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan could be expanded to include other regional states including Egypt, Turkey’s foreign minister said.
Several countries are interested in joining the trilateral security agreement that was signed in Mecca on Friday, Hakan Fidan told state-run Anadolu Agency in an interview late Saturday.
“I believe that in the next stage, Egypt will also be among us,” he said. “There are a few technical matters there. Once those are implemented, there is no reason for Egypt not to be included as well.”
Egypt’s accession would add one of the biggest militaries in the Middle East to the alliance and another key Sunni Muslim-majority state in the region.
Officials at Egypt’s Foreign Ministry weren’t immediately available for comment.
The grouping, which Fidan said is provisionally called the “Mecca Alliance” or “Mecca Defense Alliance,” was formed against the backdrop of the war in Iran and commits members to jointly retaliate against attacks on allies.
Pakistan’s participation shows the alliance’s scope is regional and “much broader” than the Middle East, Fidan said.
“In our president’s vision, we are not meant to remain limited to three countries anyway; we are meant to grow further,” he added.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said the accord “remains open to any country in the region willing to uphold its fundamental principles and resolve differences through mutual respect, cooperation and peaceful means,” in a post on X on Sunday.
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