Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Egypt could join the joint defence agreement recently signed by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, describing Cairo’s accession as “possible” and the pact as open to further members. In his recent interview, Erdogan said the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement commits signatories to taking unified steps if any one of them comes under external attack.
“This agreement has sent an important message to the world,” he said, adding that Egypt’s participation was among the options for its future expansion.
The deal, signed last Friday in Mecca by Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, treats an armed attack on any one member as an attack on all three — similar to what NATO’s Article 5 provides for.
Officials in Islamabad have cautioned against viewing it as a NATO equivalent or as directed at any specific country.
Erdogan said reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a priority for Ankara, arguing that its continued closure served no one’s interests, and credited Qatar with an important role in mediation.
He pledged that Türkiye would not leave its neighbours alone amid regional turmoil, singling out Syria, Gaza and Lebanon.
While Ankara would support stability in Syria, it “cannot leave Gaza alone” after Hamas kept meeting its commitments while Israel continued its war.
He went on to say that EU membership, which his country has been fighting for years, is no longer important and that Ankara sees the new alliance as a fresh pivot in the region’s overall security architecture.
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