Egypt could join the new defense alliance signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey once several technical issues are resolved, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saturday.
Speaking to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency, Fidan said Cairo was a potential addition to the pact, which he described as effectively modeled on NATO’s Article 5 principle that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
Four-way meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt in April
Fidan said the alliance would also establish a ministerial committee and a general secretariat based in Saudi Arabia. The Turkish foreign minister insisted that the agreement, signed Friday, was not directed against Iran.
“Iran is not the target of the defense alliance,” Fidan said. “No one is a target as long as they do not attack countries that are members of the alliance.”
He also tied Turkey’s participation to maritime security in the region. “Safety of navigation in the Red Sea concerns our interests, and therefore Turkey must be involved in Saudi Arabia’s international coalition,” he said.
Fidan said Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey do not harbor expansionist ambitions and suggested the alliance could eventually grow well beyond its three founding members.
“Our president’s vision is not to limit the agreement to these three countries, but to expand it and, if necessary, bring all nations under its umbrella,” he said.
Fidan identified cooperation in defense industry and technology as the most important component of the agreement. “Cooperation in the defense industry and defense technology is the most important clause in the defense agreement,” he said.
He added that discussions over the defense agreement in Mecca had been underway for two years and eight months with Turkey’s partners and other regional countries with which agreements had been signed.
The pact was formally signed Friday in Saudi Arabia during a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Signing of the defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey
(Video: Reuters)
Named the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, the pact is the result of months of negotiations among the three countries. Its signing comes as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan seek greater room to act independently amid continued upheaval across the Middle East.
Reuters reported that alongside growing concern over Iran and its proxies, the three countries are also increasingly uneasy about Israel’s military policy in the region, while doubts have grown over the ability of their longtime ally, the U.S., to contain further escalation.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif earlier turned his criticism directly toward Israel, calling on the Muslim world “to unite in confronting the common threat posed by Israel.”
“Israel poses a threat to all of us,” Asif said. “Islamic countries must adopt a coordinated approach to confront this threat.”
According to Pakistan, the agreement also calls for strengthening all aspects of defense cooperation among the three countries: oil-rich Saudi Arabia, nuclear-armed Pakistan and Turkey, which commands NATO’s second-largest military and has a rapidly expanding defense industry.
Turkish media reported that the pact is likely to lead to joint military exercises and training, as well as increased intelligence sharing and cooperation on defense technology.
The alliance is already drawing a response from Tehran. CNN reported Saturday that amid exchanges of fire between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, Iran sent Riyadh a warning that its defense alliance with Turkey and Pakistan would not be enough to guarantee its security.
A senior Houthi official quoted by CNN, meanwhile, insisted that the group does not wait for instructions from Tehran before escalating against Saudi Arabia. “The orders against Saudi Arabia do not come from Iran,” the official said.
He accused Riyadh of imposing an economic and aerial blockade on Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, saying it had created “the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crisis.”
“That reason alone is enough to compel us to act with great determination,” he said. The official also claimed that Houthi attacks against Saudi targets this week had been preventive, alleging that Riyadh was preparing for a ground invasion of rebel-held territory.
First published: 21:17, 08.08.26