The three-nation Mecca Alliance will be a “very game-changing platform,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saturday, adding that the initiative has reached an advanced stage, with efforts underway to establish its headquarters and assign personnel, APA reports.
Speaking to Turkish broadcaster NTV on foreign policy issues, Fidan said there is “a very strong will” behind the alliance forged last month between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and that Ankara is working to turn this political will into action.
“The Mecca Alliance is really at a good stage. There’s a very strong will that has been put forward. We’re working with all our strength to put this will into action,” Fidan said.
“The Mecca Alliance will be a very game-changing platform,” he added.
Fidan said steps toward the institutionalization of the alliance are underway, particularly work to establish a secretariat envisaged under the agreement and a military headquarters affiliated with it.
He said detailed preparations on both structures have “almost been completed” and that the three countries have reached a common understanding on how they will operate.
According to Fidan, the next stage will be to deploy personnel and make the headquarters operational.
He said that once institutionalization steps are completed, talks could be held with the other two founding countries on admitting new members.
“It is an alliance open to the countries of the region,” he said.
Fidan said the initiative was not intended to create a new regional bloc against other countries but to establish a common defense framework based on regional ownership.
Türkiye’s regional vision, he said, is to bring together as many countries as possible to establish an environment of trust, address regional problems more effectively, and prevent new crises from emerging.
“The basic point of departure for all of this is the search for regional solutions to regional problems,” he said.
Alliance members have responsibilities to one another
Addressing recent attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on Saudi Arabia, Fidan said the issue has existed for roughly a decade, adding that a ceasefire was reached in 2022 before tensions resurfaced following the start of the Gaza conflict.
He said Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and infrastructure had faced serious attacks.
Under the alliance agreement, Fidan said, member countries have responsibilities toward one another as allies.
“We stand in solidarity on this issue,” he said, adding that alliance members are jointly assessing the situation.
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