Pakistan said six to seven Muslim-majority countries are interested in joining the Mecca Defense Agreement, as top diplomats from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Istanbul on Monday to discuss security and military cooperation.
Pakistani, Saudi and Turkish officials are working on an agreement framework to make it easier for other countries to join, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said over the weekend in the UK, without identifying the countries.
Bangladesh is the latest country to express interest in joining the pact, signed on Aug. 7, which stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three nations will be considered an attack on them all.
“The alliance was established with the intention of expansion,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a press conference following the meeting. He didn’t elaborate on which countries could join but added that any new memberships would require “discussions regarding conditions, procedures and standards.”
Fidan said earlier this month that other regional states, including Egypt, could be included in the pact.
The meeting was the first of the strategic political and defense committee set up under the trilateral agreement.
The talks were expected to cover international security, boosting interoperability among the armed forces of the three countries and deepening defense industry cooperation, according to an earlier statement by Turkey’s foreign ministry. The committee is expected to establish a framework for the secretariat to coordinate activities under the pact, the statement added.
Fidan said after the meeting that the pact will not eliminate Turkey’s other alliance obligations, including to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but rather “complement” them.
He added that it could only increase the region’s stability and make it more available to investment and development.
President Donald Trump has praised the pact, calling it a bold first step enabling nations to defend themselves.
Pakistan has acted as a key mediator between the US and Iran in efforts to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz.
(Updates throughout with developments, Fidan comments.)
