Islamabad: Foreign Minister (FM) Ishaq Dar held separate telephone calls with Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish FM Hakan Fidan on Sunday to follow up on understandings reached at the inaugural meeting of the Makkah Defence Alliance.
According to statements issued by the foreign office, Dar and his Saudi counterpart discussed regional and international developments, as well as matters of mutual interest at multilateral fora. The two leaders reviewed the outcomes of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee meeting held in Istanbul last month and agreed to maintain close contact.
In his conversation with Turkish FM Fidan, Dar expressed gratitude to Turkiye for hosting the inaugural committee meeting under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. The ministers discussed ways to advance cooperation within the agreement's framework and exchanged views on regional developments and multilateral collaboration.
The tripartite joint defence pact was signed on August 7 at Al Safa Palace by PM Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Empowering member states to treat an attack on one as an attack on all, the alliance held its inaugural meeting on August 31 in Istanbul, where it was decided that Pakistan would head the secretariat for an initial three year term.
Under the institutionalised implementation of the pact, the three nations agreed to strengthen defence capabilities and armed forces cohesion through joint activities, defence industry cooperation, and joint technology development and production, aiming to contribute to regional peace and stability. Pakistan has noted that the pact remains open to any regional country willing to uphold its principles. While Turkiye indicated the possibility of Egypt joining, Cairo has yet to confirm.
Earlier on Sunday, Egyptian FM Badr Abdelatty called DPM Dar to exchange views on bilateral relations and regional security. Abdelatty invited Dar to undertake an official visit to Egypt at his earliest convenience. The two ministers reaffirmed their commitment to remain engaged on regional security matters and agreed to meet on the sidelines of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session this month.
Pakistan and Egypt also participate alongside Saudi Arabia and Turkiye in the R4 Group, a quadrilateral regional alliance established in March to address regional security and mediation efforts.
