The commission convened under the chairmanship of AK Party Ankara Deputy Fuat Oktay. In his speech at the opening of the meeting, Oktay said that developments in the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine war, sensitivities in the Caucasus, the Balkans and North Africa directly affect regional security.
Stating that the Agreement to be discussed constitutes a concrete and extremely important step in the will to own regional ownership and the determination to strengthen peace by increasing deterrence in the region, Oktay stated that the construction of a collective deterrence shield in the Middle East with the Mecca Agreement is a significant development.
Emphasizing that the talks held in Tehran yesterday are valuable, Oktay said, "The agreements that our country signed and is a party to are not an attack, expansionism or a bloc alliance against third countries. On the contrary, our country is a party to defense agreements that will increase deterrence, fortify our geography, and aim for peace and stability. In this context, the Mecca Agreement is valuable in that it does not propose an exclusionary security architecture and allows the participation of other actors who share the vision of regional peace and stability." made his evaluations.
Oktay, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission, pointed out the importance of the expansion process of the Agreement not allowing an uncontrolled mechanism and said, "It is naturally of great importance that the growth of the Alliance and the acceptance of new members are subject to the approval, consent and strategic filter of the core parties and therefore our country." he said.
Oktay pointed out that while deterrence was established at the highest level within the scope of the agreement, absolute respect was shown to the sovereign rights, international obligations and constitutional processes of the party countries, and said:
"It seems that the principle that every step to be taken should come into force within the framework of the parties' own constitutional obligations, national legislation and the actions of their competent authorities, rather than the collective defense provisions operating spontaneously and mechanically, has been adopted. In this regard, it is important to operate consultation mechanisms at the highest level and seek common consensus. It can be stated that this alliance architecture is built on 3 main pillars: joint defense, a determined fight against terrorism and the development of domestic opportunities in the defense industry. Each of these headings is both for our country and our country." "It is also of vital importance for the future of our geography. In fact, the Mecca Agreement should not be viewed as a single isolated text."
After Oktay's speech, New Party Eskişehir Deputy Utku Çakırözer said that the Agreement should also be discussed in the National Defense Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Thereupon, Oktay stated that they wrote to the relevant commission to conduct a study and submit a report, but they were informed that "no study or reporting will be done."
The commission then proceeded to discuss the Proposal Law Concerning the Approval of the Mecca Agreement for Common Defense between the Republic of Türkiye, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Levent Gümrükçü's presentation on the Agreement began.
