Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday that he hopes Egypt will soon join a joint defence agreement with regional partners to strengthen stability in West Asia. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the agreement on Friday amid armed conflict between the United States and Iran.
Fidan gave an interview to Anadolu news agency and called Egypt a "natural partner on all issues". He stated that Cairo had been acting as if it were a member of the alliance and said that in the next phase Egypt would become a formal part of the agreement, formally named the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement or known to the public as Muslim NATO.
Fidan explained that there were only a few technical issues to be resolved before Egypt could join. "Once those are settled, there is no reason for Egypt not to be part of this agreement," he said. Fidan stressed that the defence pact was not aimed at targeting any country and "there is no shared threat that we have put in writing."
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry stated on Friday that the pact embodied the principle of collective defence in which an attack on one member would be considered an attack on all members. The move was intended to strengthen collective deterrence in a region roiled by the US-Iran conflict, which has disrupted vital shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
