ISTANBUL — Egypt could join a new joint defence agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, signalling possible expansion of the emerging regional security framework.
“I believe Egypt will also be with us in the alliance at the next stage. We have already been acting as if we are alliance members,” Fidan said, adding that only a few technical issues needed to be resolved before Egypt could formally join.
The agreement stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three signatories would be considered an attack against all three. Fidan compared the arrangement to Article 5 of NATO, which enshrines the principle of collective defence.
Fidan described Egypt as a “natural partner” and said the agreement was purely defensive. He stressed that the pact did not identify any joint threat and said Iran was not a target of the agreement.
The Turkish minister said Ankara wanted to expand the framework beyond the three founding members and bring other regional countries under the same security umbrella. Saudi Arabia will host the pact’s secretariat, while political and military committees are expected to include foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs from member states.
Egypt’s possible accession would mark a significant expansion of regional defence cooperation at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East and growing concerns over security in the Red Sea and other strategic waterways.
