Why Egypt held back from joining Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan's defence pact

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travelled to Mecca on Friday to sign a security pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Turkish officials chose to keep the trip secret.

The visit did not appear on Erdogan's official schedule. Instead, the three countries decided abruptly on Tuesday that the signing ceremony would take place on Friday.

People familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye that senior Turkish officials feared that publicising Erdogan's schedule would give unwanted powers an opportunity to disrupt the agreement.

Their concerns were understandable.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday that Ankara had spent two years trying to persuade all of the parties involved to sign the security pact.

The agreement, despite leaving specific military commitments vague, includes a collective-defence provision resembling Nato's Article 5, under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

For several months, officials from Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have held regular foreign minister-level consultations under a grouping known as "The Regional Four", moves that have triggered outrage in Israel.

In February, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Turkey of "trying to flip Saudi Arabia against us and establish a hostile Sunni axis with nuclear Pakistan."