Egypt could become the next member of a new regional mutual-defense agreement involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, as Middle Eastern countries seek closer security cooperation amid growing regional instability.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said several countries have expressed interest in joining the agreement and suggested Egypt could be included in a future expansion.
“I believe that in the next stage, Egypt will also be among us,” Fidan said, according to Bloomberg. He said several technical matters still needed to be addressed before Egypt could join.
The agreement, provisionally described as the “Mecca Alliance” or “Mecca Defense Alliance,” was signed Friday by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Under the agreement, an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be considered an attack against all three. The pact also calls for greater defense cooperation.
Alliance could gain significant military strength
The three founding members bring different military capabilities to the agreement.
Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state, Turkey is a NATO member with the alliance’s second-largest military and a growing domestic defense industry, while Saudi Arabia provides significant financial resources and regional influence.
Fidan said the alliance was not designed to remain limited to its original three members.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also said the agreement remains open to other regional countries that accept its principles and are prepared to resolve disputes peacefully.
Dar described the pact as “purely defensive in nature” and said it was not directed against any particular country.
Egypt could broaden regional defense cooperation
Egypt’s potential membership would add another major Sunni Muslim-majority country and one of the region’s largest militaries to the emerging security arrangement.
The agreement comes amid heightened regional tensions and questions over the future of traditional security partnerships.
Saudi Arabia previously signed a separate mutual-defense agreement with Pakistan in September 2025.
Officials have rejected direct comparisons between the new pact and NATO, despite its collective-defense provision.
If Egypt joins, the alliance would gain greater military and strategic weight as major Middle Eastern powers increasingly explore new approaches to regional security and deterrence.
