The Mecca defense agreement has launched a process to establish a "new security and cooperation architecture" in the region, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday.
Speaking in Istanbul following the first meeting under the trilateral agreement between Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Fidan said: "With this agreement, the process of testing a new security and cooperation architecture in our region has begun."
Regional countries urgently need to act together for security, stability, prosperity and lasting peace, he added.
Fidan attended the meeting at Istanbul's Çırağan Palace alongside Turkish National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu.
Pakistan's delegation included Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Saudi Arabia was represented by Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman and Chief of General Staff Gen. Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili.
Fidan said the agreement allows other countries to join the alliance, but discussions would be needed with both prospective members and existing members on the conditions, procedures and standards for accession.
He said work is underway on a roadmap for the accession process.
"The alliance was established with the aim of expanding. But at the outset, its foundations need to be laid very well, and its institutionalization also needs to be carried out very well," Fidan said, adding that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan also share this sensitivity on the issue.
Fidan said the three countries agree on the need to build a strong and institutionalized structure capable of addressing challenges and bringing stability, peace and prosperity to the region, while also expanding the alliance over time.
A potential new ally should join a well-established and effectively functioning structure, he said.
"We are now working together to complete the difficult part, which is the establishment phase," Fidan added.
Fidan added that greater stability would create an environment conducive to more investment and development.
Asked about Israel viewing Türkiye as a "strategic threat," Fidan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters have increasingly used rhetoric targeting Türkiye, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other Turkish officials as Israel heads into the election period.
"We have been following this from the beginning," he said.
Fidan described Netanyahu as having become a "common enemy of humanity, the international community and security," calling him a "criminal" and a "perpetrator of genocide" who should not be taken seriously.
He said Netanyahu, his "mentality" and those acting alongside him pose a threat not only to Türkiye but to global security.
"It would be a major mistake to think of this as only Türkiye's problem," Fidan said.
He called on the international community to stop Netanyahu, arguing that his policies are harming the region, Israel, the Jewish people and the wider world.
Fidan said Netanyahu's remarks indicate that he does not want the establishment of a Palestinian state or an end to ongoing occupations in countries across the region.
"He wants the genocidal and occupying approach, which endangers regional and international security, to continue," Fidan said.
"This is a major threat not only to us, but to the entire region and the international community. The international system must fight against this threat, this Netanyahu threat," he added.
