The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was the surprise alliance of the week in a region embroiled in turmoil. Although negotiations were underway for some time to build the pact among Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, it was only after its signing that the details fully surfaced.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who was present during the signing of the deal in the Saudi city where Islam was born, explained it in detail in a lengthy interview and reassured that it was a "defense deal,” not a means to attack any specific country. Fidan also signaled that Egypt might join the trio in the near future.

The agreement embodies the spirit of alliance among three countries that already enjoy close ties. One of its highlights is that it stipulates that an attack on one of the parties would be deemed an attack on all and, therefore, would require a joint response.

It came against the backdrop of the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, which has spread across the region, with Iran targeting other countries it views as supportive of the U.S. and disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

"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," Fidan said in an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) late Saturday. "There are a few technical issues. Once these are resolved, there is no reason for Egypt not to be part of it."

Fidan said the agreement does not target a specific country. "There is no common threat that we have put in writing," he said. His remarks were a response to media reports and critics of the agreement who claimed it would prompt joint action against Iran, whose affiliates in Yemen recently targeted Saudi Arabia. Türkiye itself, through NATO defense systems, intercepted several missiles in the early days of the U.S.-Israel-Iran war. On the other hand, Türkiye and Pakistan were at the forefront of efforts to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiation table to secure a cease-fire and a lasting peace.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said Friday that the pact was "intended to strengthen collective deterrence."

Fidan said the agreement was "the most important step toward bringing lasting stability to this region" and suggested the alliance could expand further. "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," he said. The vision aligns with Türkiye’s peace diplomacy, which seeks to keep Türkiye in close connection with all sides of a conflict and diversify Türkiye’s alliances, which, in the past, were firmly anchored in Western-centric alliances. Türkiye remains committed to NATO and other alliances in the meantime.

Fidan said Saturday that the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement is technically the same as Article 5 of the NATO Treaty concerning collective defense.

Fidan said discussions on the initiative began before the current war environment, when there was no Iran-U.S.-Israel war, but Türkiye anticipated that American security concerns in the region would change, other developments would emerge and its fight against terrorism would remain on the agenda.

He stressed that Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are not expansionist countries.

"Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye, when you look at their foreign policy positions, are not countries that have expansionist policies. They are countries concerned with their own borders, their own problems and their development; if possible, they want to contribute positively to their environment through good relations and good neighborliness," he said.

Fidan said the three countries have different styles and capacities, but when brought together, they naturally form a defense-oriented organization rather than an offensive one. "Now, when we come together with these countries, naturally we are becoming a defense-oriented organization. It is not an approach of going on the offensive and saying, 'Let's do this or that together.' Therefore, unless it is attacked by a country, whether from inside or outside the region, this alliance cannot have any dispute with any country. But, of course, the power composition we have put forward will make a constructive contribution to regional stability," he said, stressing the reasons for advancing the initiative and emphasizing that Iran was not the target of the agreement. He added that countries that do not attack the signatories are not considered targets.

Fidan said the alliance had been examined closely from legal, political, and strategic perspectives and that Türkiye saw no problem with the framework. He also noted that NATO countries had previously concluded similar agreements.

"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," he said. "The Mecca agreement is the most important step toward bringing lasting stability to this region," Fidan said, adding that the region has experienced instability in the past century since the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire.

He described the signing of the agreement as a "historic day," saying it represented one of the milestones that Türkiye had been pursuing for years under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's leadership.

Fidan said increasing regional ownership of security issues is central to Türkiye's approach.

"External hegemons coming into the region do not solve the problems; they make them more acute, and the cost becomes very high," he said, arguing that regional countries should develop more institutional mechanisms through which they can ensure their own security, economic stability, development and prosperity.

Fidan said Türkiye has strong relations with almost all countries in the region. "But these were relations that were largely shaped by the prevailing circumstances, political perceptions and understandings, and could change at any moment."

He said Ankara seeks to make its regional ties more lasting and structured to promote stability, stressing that lasting economic integration requires security and mutual trust.

Citing the EU as an example, Fidan said the European Economic Community took shape in the environment provided by the American security umbrella. He said Türkiye's regional vision similarly seeks to reduce instability and eventually foster greater economic and social integration, improving the prosperity of regional populations.

Fidan acknowledged that the initiative is at an early stage and will not be easy to establish, but said Türkiye has already completed the conceptual and institutional preparations. The minister said preparations for the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement had been underway for nearly three years, with talks involving signatories and other regional countries. He said the process evolved from an initial idea into a concept and ultimately an agreement, while Erdoğan had also repeatedly raised the issue with regional leaders.

Fidan said the Mecca initiative is not a new phenomenon within NATO and stressed that Türkiye is a country that is aware of its responsibilities.

"Türkiye is also a country that is aware of its responsibilities. We are in no position to keep these different geographies and different priorities in conflict with one another," he said.

He said this was an area that needed to be managed and noted that he raised the issue during a meeting with his German counterpart.

Fidan also noted Türkiye's objective was based on regional ownership and that Ankara had weight in several strategic locations, adding that there had also been serious discussions about what could be done in terms of a security architecture with Europe.

"Türkiye, by virtue of its geography, has a strategic orientation toward Europe and the broader European geography through the Caucasus, Middle East, Black Sea, Mediterranean and Balkans. Here, you need to develop a perspective for each strategic basin and harmonize these perspectives even if areas of tension emerge," he said.

Türkiye's experience within NATO had shown that Ankara has different geographic conditions from other members, particularly regarding the Middle East and Caucasus, and those have been analyzed, he said. He said Türkiye's strategic sphere was broad and that each strategic basin had different positions and conditions, requiring separate approaches. Fidan said Türkiye was seeking to develop security and economic architectures for those areas together with regional countries rather than through a hegemonic approach.

"We are not going with a hegemonic understanding, so we need to do this together with the countries of the region. Following the agreement in the Caucasus, hopefully, there is currently a cease-fire – a cease-fire that is working well. Armenia and Azerbaijan are moving toward a permanent peace agreement, and we support this. While supporting this, we have a security and economic architecture perspective in mind," he said.

Asked whether a similar structure could be established in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Fidan said those arrangements could be built when necessary, noting that some regions could place greater emphasis on economic needs.

He said the Middle East's main problem was currently war, mutual distrust and conflict, making it necessary to begin with a security architecture, while Europe was also seeking a new security architecture. Fidan stressed that European and Middle Eastern security architectures could eventually be harmonized through Türkiye "in the long term, and even in the medium term. The intellectual and conceptual preparations for this have actually been established," he said. He said both regions ultimately sought security, economic development, and the ability to remain competitive, but stressed that such ideas were gradually taking shape and that putting them into practice would take time, with Europe's transformation likely to take longer.

‘Muslim NATO’

Some Turkish media outlets portrayed the Mecca agreement as the realization of the "Muslim NATO” vision, first voiced by the late Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, who also happens to be the political mentor of President Erdoğan. Erbakan advocated closer ties with Muslim countries in the face of Türkiye’s past foreign policies, which were largely steered by relations with Europe and the United States. Erbakan often repeated his proposal for strengthening Muslim unity across the world through a joint economic zone, joint currency and military alliance, in the fashion of the EU and NATO. His "Muslim NATO” vision primarily aimed to deter Israel.

Similarly, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the government ally of Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party), has suggested an Islamic alliance for security repeatedly over the past two years. In a written statement in August 2024, Bahçeli proposed the formation of a "Jerusalem Pact” comprising Türkiye, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and other regional countries to ensure peace in the Middle East. He underlined that the pact was necessary to stop Israel’s attacks on Gaza, for the preservation of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and for the safety of Palestinians.

"We attach great importance, from the perspective of our national security, to the political and economic stabilization of the Middle East and North Africa region, which forms part of Türkiye’s security perimeter. In this context, we consider the establishment of a ‘Jerusalem Pact’ involving Türkiye and other Islamic countries to be necessary for our country’s security as well. At this stage, it has become an urgent and unavoidable necessity for all countries in the region to stand on their own feet, to demonstrate the ability to use their own resources and capabilities for the future of their peoples rather than according to policies dictated by imperialist powers; and to free the region from being a source and center of terrorism, which is a crime against humanity,” Bahçeli stated back then.