Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saturday that the defense pact signed by Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is technically comparable to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause, while stressing that the agreement is not directed against Iran.
Fidan also said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants the alliance to expand, identifying Egypt as one of the potential candidates to join the new regional security framework.
Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” on Friday. In a joint statement, the three countries said the pact aims to strengthen collective deterrence against aggression and establishes that an armed attack against any one of them would be considered an attack against all three.
Speaking to the state-run Anadolu news agency, Fidan emphasized that the alliance was not created to target Iran or any other country, but rather to provide a framework for strengthening the security of its members.
He explained that the allies would consult with one another to determine the scale, nature and form of assistance required if one of the member states came under attack. He added that no country would be regarded as a threat as long as it does not attack a member of the alliance.
Fidan said the agreement remains open to other regional countries and is not intended to replace existing alliances.
“NATO is a major military alliance with 32 members. We have started here with three countries, and we need to take modest but concrete steps,” he said, adding that negotiations to finalize the pact had been underway for two years and eight months.
Under the agreement, a ministerial committee modeled on NATO’s structures will be established, along with a general secretariat based in Saudi Arabia. Operational arrangements, however, will be determined during the committee’s first meeting.
Fidan said Erdogan’s vision is for the alliance to eventually expand beyond the three founding members and bring other countries in the region under the same framework.
He added that Egypt could potentially join once outstanding technical issues have been resolved.
In recent months, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt have also formed a group to address major regional issues, including the conflict involving Iran. Ankara has referred to the group as “R4” and said it aims to strengthen cooperation through concrete mechanisms.
Fidan also said Turkey should take part in any international coalition established to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, arguing that maritime security is directly linked to Turkey’s interests.
