Turkey says Egypt could join Makkah Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Egypt is also expected to join the Makkah Defence Agreement signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on August 7. He described Cairo as a “natural partner”. Turkey wants this coalition to grow and bring other nations into it.

“Under our president’s vision, we should not remain limited to three countries. We should grow and, if necessary, bring all countries under this umbrella,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan while speaking to Turkish Anadolu News Agency.

Egypt's inlcusion into the alliance would definitely increase the weight of the coalition, as it is closest to Israeli territory. It already shares strong military ties with Turkey despite previous tension over the 2013 Egyptian military's overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi.

Also Read: Mamata Banerjee's car attacked in West Bengal while meeting family of TMC worker who died in police custody

"Egypt is already our natural partner on all issues. I believe that at the next stage Egypt will also be among us in the alliance. We already act toward one another as if we were alliance members. There are a few technical issues. Once these are implemented, there is no reason for Egypt not to be part of it," said Fidan. He further added that neither Pakistan nor Saudi Arabia has any objection to Egyptian inclusion.

The nature of the agreement still remains undefined, despite having NATO's Article 5-like stipulation where an attack on any one of the three states would be treated as an attack on all of them. But unlike NATO, this seems to have more room for political manoeuvring, as it's rather a passive defensive arrangement with no existing bureaucracy and financing architecture. This would suit Egypt well for its aid relationship with Washington.