Egypt would not want its freedom of action limited by the Mecca pact

Egypt is studying the possibility of joining the Mecca defense pact, but would not want the agreement to limit its freedom of action. This opinion was expressed by Bashir Abdel Fattah, a political commentator at Egypt's Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. "Egypt is seriously studying the question of joining the Mecca agreement and is looking for a balance between observing its own national interests and participating in the coalition. Cairo would not want to conclude an agreement that would limit its freedom of action and deprive it of flexibility in decision-making," the expert believes. He emphasized that, in his view, the Arab republic has "no serious arguments against" joining the pact, but its leadership has so far "taken a pause" to study the issue. Abdel Fattah pointed out that Egypt has requested clarifications from the participating countries on a number of "technical questions." In particular, Cairo wants to clarify which branches of the armed forces would be involved in the event of the pact's practical application and what the powers of the states that signed the agreement would be. In addition, the Egyptian side has yet to receive answers to questions about the deployment of the coalition's troops and who exactly will command them and how. "Egypt supports initiatives aimed at ensuring stability in the region, but first the situation needs to be fully clarified: after all, the agreement must not only be signed, but also subsequently implemented," the agency's interlocutor summed up. The agreement in Mecca was signed on August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It stipulates that an attack on one of the countries will be regarded as aggression against all members of the coalition. On August 13, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, during a visit to Egypt, expressed hope for the Arab republic's early accession to the pact. However, his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty noted that Cairo is "still studying this question" and has not yet made a final decision.