Turkey courts Egypt on defense pact
Turkey stepped up efforts to broaden its new regional defense framework this week, seeking Egypt’s participation while deepening security ties with Saudi Arabia and Libya.
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Welcome to AL-MONITOR Turkey, where we wrap up the leading stories of the week.
This week, Turkey has ramped up regional diplomacy following the Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan trilateral defense pact, as Ankara sought to bring Egypt into the fold.
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Ezgi (Follow me on X: @ezgi_akin)
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Leading this week
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference in Moscow on June 16, 2026. — SERGEI ILNITSKY / AFP via Getty Images
Turkey has stepped up efforts this week to involve Egypt in the newly signed Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan defense pact as Ankara seeks to broaden the emerging regional security framework and keep Cairo engaged.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan traveled to Egypt on Thursday for a two-day visit, where talks included discussions over Cairo’s potential participation in the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan last week. Under the mutual defense pact, an attack on one member would be regarded as an attack on all.
In Egypt, Fidan voiced Ankara’s preference openly, saying, “We hope Egypt will be our formal partner.”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty struck a cautious tone, saying Cairo was in “full coordination with the three partner countries” and had been aware of the initiative from the beginning. However, he added that the defense obligations involved required detailed study before Egypt could make a decision.
Following bilateral talks between the Turkish and Egyptian foreign ministers, Fidan, Abdelatty and their Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, also held a trilateral meeting in El Alamein later on Thursday to discuss regional developments and coordination, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
Despite Ankara’s efforts, though, Egypt’s involvement seems unlikely in the short term. Amberin Zaman’s analysis here explores the reasons behind Egypt’s reluctance to join the pact, as well as Saudi Arabia’s own reservations about Cairo’s participation.
Meanwhile, Turkey is also moving to deepen its defense cooperation with Saudi Arabia in a separate Saudi-led maritime security initiative to protect shipping across the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden. Regional sources told Amberin this week that Turkey was set to sign the coalition’s charter, formalizing Ankara’s participation in the initiative prompted in part by growing threats to commercial shipping from the Houthis.
The Egypt stop capped a busy diplomatic week for Fidan. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he traveled to Libya, holding talks in Tripoli before making his first visit to Benghazi as foreign minister and meeting Khalifa Hifter, the de facto leader of eastern Libya.
Ankara is trying to work with both of Libya’s rival governments as Washington pushes the country’s competing camps toward a power-sharing arrangement and Ankara seeks to protect its military, maritime, energy and commercial interests. For details, check my article here.
Other top stories
An employee of Basra Oil Company inspects the Nahr Bin Umar Oil and Gas Field on the outskirts of the southern Iraqi city of Basra on April 29, 2026. — Photo by Hussein Faleh/ AFP via Getty Images
Barin Kayaoglu explored the future of Turkey-Iraq ties at a time when Iranian influence in the country is declining amid the US-Iran war.
What else we're reading
As usual, don’t miss Nazlan Ertan’s biweekly Istanbul Culture Newsletter, where she brings you the latest from Istanbul and Turkey’s arts and culture scene.
