Today, Friday, Istanbul will host the first meeting of its kind that brings together the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia with their counterparts from Germany, France and the United Kingdom, to discuss issues of concern to the Middle East and Europe and to enhance coordination between the participating countries.
The meeting comes at a time when expanding alliances and security cooperation mechanisms with Middle Eastern countries has become one of the most prominent features of Turkish foreign and security policy, within an approach adopted by Ankara and which it calls “the countries of the region taking the initiative.”
Within the framework of this approach, Türkiye played an active role in establishing the Mecca Alliance with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and then in signing the Badr Memorandum of Understanding with Qatar, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
Through these initiatives, Ankara seeks to contribute to the formation of a new regional security system in the Middle East, and to open new markets for its expanding defense industries.
Turkey has begun to implement a new foreign policy approach that it calls 'regional countries taking the lead', especially after Hakan Fidan assumed the position of Foreign Minister in June 2023. In explaining this approach, Fidan said that the best way to solve regional problems is to create cooperation mechanisms and alliances between the countries of the region themselves. Fidan believes that the intervention of major powers from outside the region leads to an exacerbation of instability.
In a statement he made in August, Fidan indicated that Türkiye was working to build a “regional security system based on the countries of the region taking the initiative.” He said: 'We always say that it is important to strengthen the role of countries in the region in taking the initiative. Dominant external powers do not solve the region's problems, but rather exacerbate them, at a very high cost.'
He added: 'The countries of the region must move towards more established institutional frameworks to ensure their security, economic stability, development and prosperity.'
Contacts conducted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with state leaders, and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan with his counterparts since 2023, resulted in the establishment of three important mechanisms this year: the Regional Quartet (R4), the Mecca Alliance, and the Badr Alliance.
According to sources in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the regional Quartet mechanism was established based on the principle that countries in the region take the initiative, with the aim of 'supporting lasting stability and promoting dialogue on regional issues'. The foreign ministers of the four countries held their first meeting in Riyadh on March 18, 2026, and have met six times so far. Their last meeting was in New York on September 21, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings. They are scheduled to meet today, Friday, October 23, in Istanbul, the foreign ministers of the European Tripartite Group (E3).
This will be the first meeting that brings together the countries of the Regional Quartet and the European tripartite group in this format. Based on the results of the Istanbul meeting, it is expected that the formula of the Regional Quartet and the European Tripartite Group (R4+E3) will turn into a platform for holding periodic meetings in the future.
While the regional Quartet mechanism focuses primarily on political consultations and exchange of views, three of its countries, Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on August 7 and announced the creation of an alliance known as the Mecca Alliance. Egypt did not join the coalition. International media reports indicated the desire of a number of countries, including Qatar, Kuwait and Bangladesh, to join it.
Under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which was referred to the Turkish Parliament for ratification, the 'core parties' take decisions regarding the accession of new countries. One of the most prominent provisions of the agreement is that any armed attack from an external source on one of the coalition members is considered an attack on all its members, which is similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty.
Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan constantly stress that the coalition is not directed against any country, and that its goal is to strengthen the principles of collective deterrence and defense. US President Donald Trump announced that he viewed this initiative positively.
The Badr Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed by defense officials from Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia in Doha on October 21, aims to strengthen military cooperation between the four countries. The countries participating in the Badr Alliance also expressed interest in participating in the Turkish fighter project 'Kaan' (KAAN).
