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Egypt is “seriously” considering joining the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said, while also pledging broad support for Riyadh following recent Houthi attacks.
Abdelatty made the comments in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings in Bangkok.
Asked whether Egypt could provide military support to Saudi Arabia following attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, Abdelatty said Cairo was prepared to respond to Saudi requests.
“Whatever is being asked by the Saudis, of course we will respond,” he said. “Without any reservation we are providing all kind of support.”
Abdelatty said Egyptian membership in the Mecca defense agreement “is under serious consideration from the Egyptian side.”
Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the trilateral agreement in Mecca in August as the three countries sought a common security position amid the U.S.-Iran war.
Abdelatty said Egypt maintains close relations with all three countries.
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was targeted in two separate attacks over the weekend, leaving at least 14 people dead and more than 300 wounded.
Another airport was also struck in Dammam in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, which is home to some of the kingdom’s largest oil fields.
The attacks were the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the start of the U.S.-Iran war.
The escalation came about a week after Saudi-led forces in Yemen launched a campaign aimed at recapturing areas held by the Iran-backed Houthis, including the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
The Saudi-led coalition has vowed a “decisive” response to the airport attacks.
Saudi Arabia launched its military intervention in Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis seized the capital and forced the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government from power.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, according to international aid groups. Fighting had eased in recent years but intensified again amid the Iran war.
Egypt has rarely participated in military conflicts abroad. The country sent troops to Yemen during the civil war of the 1960s, an intervention that is now widely viewed in Egypt as a prolonged and costly engagement.
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