Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Mecca agreement signed by Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan includes a collective defense provision similar to NATO’s Article 5.

Axar.az reports, citing Anadolu Agency, that Erdogan made the remarks in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic.

"Whatever NATO's Article 5 includes, similarly, this common defense understanding means that if any problem arises, these three countries will have the opportunity to take the necessary steps together," he said.

"Whether it concerns Turkiye, Saudi Arabia or Pakistan, if any one of these three countries comes under attack, because this is a common defense pact, the three countries will have the opportunity to defend one another against any such attack," he emphasized.

"Beyond these three countries, others may join us at any time," he said. "It is not limited to Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan."

"Additional countries may also become part of it. When we signed the agreement, we announced that if other countries wished to join in the future, our door would remain open. We have kept that door open."

"If Egypt wishes, these three countries can reach an agreement and open the door to Egypt as well," the Turkish president added.