Turkiye’s top diplomat invites DPM Dar to Istanbul meeting with Saudi, Egyptian FMs

• DPM Dar confirms participation in upcoming R-4 meeting: FO.
• Pakistan, Turkish, Saudi and Egyptian FMs to attend moot: FO.
• R-4 meeting to be held in Istanbul later this month: FO.
  

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday invited Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to the upcoming meeting of the top diplomats from Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

FM Fidan extended the invitation to DPM Dar during a phone call, in which they exchanged views on recent regional developments and discussed efforts to promote regional peace and stability, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

DPM Dar accepted the Turkish foreign minister’s invitation and confirmed his participation in the upcoming R-4 meeting, scheduled to be held in Istanbul later this month, the FO added.

The development comes as regional powers move to strengthen security ties amid the US-Israel war on Iran, which started on February 28.

The war in the Middle East has had a major impact on the region — drawing in several Gulf countries and paralysing maritime traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The foreign ministers from the four states are scheduled to meet weeks after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.

Signed on August 7, the agreement stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be regarded as an attack against them all.

Turkiye later said that the defence pact was open to expansion — with Egypt as a potential candidate — and did not seek to replace any existing alliances.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu news agency on August 9, the Turkish foreign minister said that the alliance was not directed against Iran or any other country, but rather served as a general pledge to support the three allies’ security.

“Our president’s vision is that we don’t remain limited to three countries, that we grow and bring together all (regional) countries under this roof,” Fidan said, adding Egypt could potentially join the pact once certain technical matters are resolved.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has also said he hoped more countries would join the defence pact.

“Our vision for it is not limited to the three countries,” the Turkish leader told the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat daily. “Rather we aspire for it to grow, and perhaps appropriate conditions will emerge one day for all countries of the region to gather under its umbrella.”

Under the defence pact, Islamabad, Riyadh and Ankara will group senior ministers, hold joint exercises and deepen defence industry cooperation, according to the Turkish defence ministry.

At a weekly briefing in Ankara on August 13, Turkiye’s defence ministry said the pact’s fundamental goal was to ensure defence and military ties were put on a “more institutional and sustainable” footing.

“Under the accord, strategic political and military mechanisms plan to be established involving the Defence Ministers, Foreign Ministers, and Chiefs of General Staff/Armed Forces Commanders, and that coordination among the three countries will be conducted at the highest level,” it said.

The ministry added that joint military exercises involving land, naval, and air forces, as well as air defence and unmanned systems were planned, in addition to deeper defence industry cooperation.