Erdogan eyes expansion of regional defence pact

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed hopes on Wednesday that additional nations would join the defense pact signed recently by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, known as the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. This agreement aims to stabilize the region, which has been troubled by conflicts, particularly due to the US-Iran war that has drawn in regional actors and impacted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

Erdogan stated that the vision for the pact extends beyond the initial trio of countries. "Our vision for it is not limited to the three countries," he told the London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat daily. "Rather we aspire for it to grow, and perhaps appropriate conditions will emerge one day for all countries of the region to gather under its umbrella."

Turkey's Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, indicated on Saturday that Egypt was expected to join the pact in the near future. He told Anadolu state news agency that only "a few technical issues" stood between Egypt and signing the agreement. However, Egypt has not commented on Fidan's remarks, nor on the pact itself, which is set to be discussed when Fidan visits Cairo on Thursday and Friday.

The partnership between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan has been described as technically similar to NATO's Article 5, a collective defense clause. This new security alliance has been established amid the changing security landscape in the Middle East, where regional players are seeking to take greater responsibility for their own defense and stability.

Erdogan emphasized that the pact emerged from the "new circumstances" in the region, noting that regional actors should resolve their issues without relying on solutions imposed from outside.

The pact consolidates the security cooperation among the three major US allies into an alternative security architecture that rejects Israel's hegemony. It aims to strengthen security cooperation and open up opportunities for joint projects in the defense industries, according to Erdogan. Since the outbreak of the US-Iran war, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have seen a shift in their relationship, with Erdogan stating that both countries would "take steps that will elevate relations between the two countries to much higher levels," without providing further details.