The decision also relates to Cairo’s regional ties and its strong economic relationship with India.
New Delhi: Turkey has joined a new defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, while Egypt, which was earlier considered for the agreement, has chosen to stay away.
The pact was signed after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travelled to Saudi Arabia on August 6. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday (August 8) that Ankara had spent the past two years trying to bring all the countries involved into a security agreement. Iran responded soon after the pact was announced.
Announcing the agreement on Friday (August 7), Saudi minister Raed Krimly said it would help the three countries “develop joint defence capabilities, strengthen strategic deterrence, increase preparedness and develop their respective defence capabilities”. He also said, “Any external attack against any one of the three countries will be considered an attack against all three countries. A member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee dismissed the agreement and said a deal between Turkey and Pakistan on paper could not provide Saudi Arabia with more security than its decades-long dependence on the United States.
Turkey had kept President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Riyadh under wraps and did not disclose that Ankara was preparing to join the Saudi-Pakistan defence arrangement. The Mecca agreement has also drawn reactions across the region. India’s Foreign Ministry gave a measured response, saying it was closely watching the developments. The statement comes against the background of India’s long-standing sensitivity to Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities.
Once these are resolved, there is no reason why Egypt should not become part of it,” he said. Turkey had made efforts to keep Egypt and Saudi Arabia involved in the grouping, which has been named as “Regional Four”, where officials from Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia had held regular foreign minister-level talks, according to his report. “Egypt is our natural partner on all issues. I believe that Egypt will also become part of this alliance with us in the next stage. There are some technical issues involved.
