Which other countries could join the Turkiye-Saudi-Pakistan defence pact?
Under our president’s vision, we should not remain limited to three countries. We should grow and, if necessary, bring all countries under this umbrella,” Fidan told state news agency Anadolu, according to a report published on Saturday. Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on Friday signed the Mecca Joint Deterrence Agreement, in what analysts say could be a step towards a new security architecture in the region. So who could join the pact next, and what would an expanded alliance mean for regional security?
What does the pact do? The Mecca defence pact builds on a previous agreement reached between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan a year ago. Regional officials have suggested that the pact could eventually expand to include other countries, strengthening its role as a mechanism for collective security and deterrence. The pact’s central feature is a NATO-like stipulation that an attack on any one of the three states would be treated as an attack on all of them although the details have yet to be fleshed out.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the allies will decide through consultations what degree, form and format of support they would ask for in the event of an attack but no country would be considered a threat as long as a member state is not attacked. Turkish and Saudi officials have stressed that the pact is not meant to supplant any other strategic alliances or relationships while Turkiye, which is a member of NATO, has said the agreement does not target any country, including Iran.
Which countries could join next? Egypt is the only country whose potential membership has been publicly raised by an official from one of the pact’s signatory countries. Fidan described Egypt as a “natural partner” and said he expects Cairo to formally join once “technical issues” are ironed out. “I believe that at the next stage, Egypt will also be among us in the alliance,” Fidan said. “We already act towards one another as if we were alliance members.” Ali Bakir, professor of international relations, security a