Pakistan’s Dar holds talks with Saudi, Türkiye

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday held separate phone conversations with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt, discussing bilateral ties as well as regional and international developments.

According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, Dar spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

During his conversation with Faisal, Dar discussed regional and international issues, including matters of mutual interest at multilateral forums. The two also reviewed the understandings reached during the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the Makkah Defence Alliance in Istanbul and agreed to maintain close coordination.

Dar thanked Fidan for hosting the committee’s first meeting on August 31 and discussed steps to strengthen cooperation under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. The agreement, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye in Makkah on August 7, considers an armed attack on any of the three countries an attack on all and calls for greater defence cooperation.

Dar also discussed Pakistan-Egypt relations and regional issues with Abdelatty. The Egyptian minister invited Dar to visit Egypt at a mutually convenient time. Both sides agreed to remain engaged on regional security and meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly later this month.

with inputs from PTI