Erdogan wants Turkey-Saudi Arabia-Pakistan defence pact to draw more countries

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said Istanbul expects Egypt to join the pact ‘in the next stage’

“Our vision for it is not limited to the three countries,” the Turkish leader told the London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat daily. “Rather, we aspire for it to grow, and perhaps appropriate conditions will emerge one day for all countries of the region to gather under its umbrella.”

Egypt has not commented on the agreement nor on the remarks by Fidan, who will visit Cairo on Thursday and Friday.

Cairo has robust military cooperation with Ankara, but has given no indication it intends to sign up to the new security alliance, which contains a Nato-style clause saying any attack on one would be seen as an attack on all.