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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