Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are currently in advance stages to finalize the formal working of what was once an informal Quad mechanism that came into being on the sidelines of the Arab Islamic Foreign Ministers meeting on the 19th of March in Riyadh.
The formalisation of a new quadrilateral framework became emperative as fast-moving developments in the Middle East compel key regional players to deepen coordination on diplomacy and security.
The expansion of the trilateral framework of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye into a quadrilateral framework with the inclusion of Egypt is in this context.
Officials say that this quadrilateral framework will go beyond the prism of security and defense and would also focus on trade, economy and other area of multifaceted cooperation.
On Tuesday, Islamabad hosted the first ever meeting of the Senior Officials of the quad countries, which came in continuity of decision of the in person meeting held in Islamabad of the 4 countries foreign ministers on the 29th of March.
Pakistan’s delegation to the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) was led by Ambassador Tahir Andrabi, Additional Foreign Secretary/Spokesperson. The delegations of Türkiye, Egypt and Saudi Arabia were headed respectively by Ambassador Musa Kulaklikaya, Deputy Foreign Minister; Ambassador Nazih El Naggari, Assistant Foreign Minister; and, Prince Dr. Abdullah bin Khalid bin Saud Al-Kabeer AlSaud, Director General of the MFA.
At the SOM meeting, all parties appreciated Pakistan’s role for peace building efforts while emphasizing that diplomacy should be given a chance. The meeting highlighted US attacks on Iran and expressed strong resolve and solidarity against the attacks on Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye are set to hold a third in person meeting of this quadrilateral in Antalya on the 18th of April, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
Officials say that while efforts are underway to transform this quad mechanism into an institutionalized mechanism, at the same time, given the sensitivity involved, they would not want to be seen doing things in haste, at this point the quad remains a more evolving consultative mechanism.