'We aspire for it to grow': Turkiye's Erdogan eyes expansion of Makkah Joint Defence Agreement

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he hoped the newly established defence agreement between Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan would eventually expand to include more countries across the region.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed last Friday amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following the US-Iran war, which has drawn in regional powers and disrupted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

Speaking to the Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Erdogan said the agreement was intended to become broader than its current three-member structure. He expressed hope that suitable conditions would eventually allow other regional countries to come under its framework.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday that Ankara expected Egypt to join the agreement at a later stage, adding that only a few technical matters needed to be resolved. Egypt has yet to publicly comment on either the agreement or Fidan’s remarks. The Turkish foreign minister is due to visit Cairo on Thursday and Friday

Despite maintaining close military cooperation with Turkiye, Egypt has not indicated that it plans to join the new security alliance. The agreement includes a NATO-style collective defence provision under which an attack against one member would be considered an attack against all members.

Erdogan said the agreement was a response to the changing security environment in the Middle East, where regional countries were increasingly seeking to take greater responsibility for their own security and stability.

He argued that regional conflicts should be addressed by countries within the region rather than through security arrangements imposed by outside powers. According to Erdogan, externally driven solutions have often resulted in further instability.

The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has welcomed the Makkah agreement as an important strategic development. Kuwait, Bahrain and Somalia have also expressed support, while Iran has responded relatively positively, emphasising its preference for regional security mechanisms based on cooperation among neighbouring countries.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that the agreement was strictly defensive and was not intended to facilitate aggression against any country. Addressing the federal cabinet, he said the pact was designed to contribute to peace, development and prosperity in the region.

The agreement builds on an earlier defence arrangement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The two countries signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement in Riyadh last September, committing to regard an attack on either country as an act of aggression against both.

Even before the US-Iran conflict erupted, Turkiye had shown interest in joining a separate mutual-defence arrangement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Bloomberg reported in January that Ankara was seeking membership, while Defence Production Minister Raza Hayat Harraj later said that a draft agreement had been prepared after around 10 months of negotiations.

Fidan had previously said that Turkiye supported an inclusive regional platform aimed at expanding cooperation and promoting stability.

Pakistan has also been involved in diplomatic efforts to help end the US-Iran conflict, while Turkiye has taken part in negotiations seeking to bring an end to the war in Gaza.