At the Regional Four (R4) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Istanbul on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other foreign ministers expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia over the recent Houthi attacks targeting the kingdom, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
The R4 group, comprising Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, emerged in March and has been focusing on regional security and mediation efforts between the United States and Iran.
The R-4-plus meeting with France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom is also being held in Istanbul.
According to a statement by the FO on social media, DPM Dar participated in the sixth R4 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.
The ministers reviewed developments in the region since their last meeting in New York in September, with “particular focus on the situation in the Middle East and related security challenges and conflicts”, the FO said.
They expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed their support for its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The FO added that the ministers also condemned the Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia and underscored the importance of respecting state sovereignty.
“They discussed ways to strengthen regional coordination and advance diplomatic efforts to promote lasting peace, security, and stability,” it said.
Bilateral meetings
Dar earlier held bilateral meetings with the Turkish and Egyptian foreign ministers, on the sidelines of the R-4 meeting and a meeting between the R-4 and European diplomats in Istanbul, the FO said.
In a post on X, the FO said that Dar met with Fidan ahead of the ministerial meeting, thanking him for hosting the meetings. The pair discussed bilateral relations and regional developments, particularly the situation in the Middle East and Palestine.
“They expressed concern over threats to regional stability and underscored the importance of dialogue, diplomacy and coordinated efforts to promote regional peace and security,” the FO statement said.
Additionally, Dar and Fidan strongly condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed their commitment to close coordination on regional issues, including under the Makkah Defence Agreement.
“Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening the longstanding bonds of friendship and brotherhood between Pakistan and Turkiye, and to deepening cooperation across all areas of mutual interest, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora,” the FO added.
Later, the FO said that Dar also met with Egyptian FM Abdelatty on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting, where the two exchanged views on regional and international developments.
In particular, they discussed the situation in Palestine and the Middle East, and underscored the importance of “sustained dialogue and diplomacy” in addressing challenges in the region.
The two reaffirmed the “longstanding and fraternal ties” between Pakistan and Egypt, and highlighted the importance of sustained high-level engagement to further advance bilateral relations, the FO statement said.
“They agreed to impart greater momentum to cooperation across a range of areas, including trade, business-to-business linkages, agriculture, pharmaceutical, connectivity, renewable energy, defence, and people-to-people exchanges,” the FO added.
The ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to continued consultations and closer coordination under the R4 framework, as well as on matters of mutual interest, it said.
Separately, DPM Dar met with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on the sidelines of the meeting and expressed the desire to further strengthen bilateral ties “through sustained engagement and cooperation across multiple areas of mutual interest”, the FO said.
According to the FO, the two ministers discussed relations between Pakistan and Germany and exchanged views on regional and international developments. They stressed the importance of dialogue, diplomacy and sustained international engagement to promote peace and stability and to address the evolving challenges in the region.
Dar “welcomed the constructive engagement” of Germany, France, Italy and the UK with the R4 framework, the FO said, adding that he underscored the value of “continued consultations and diplomatic coordination on issues of shared concern”.
Arrival in Istanbul
Dar left for Istanbul earlier in the day and is attending the meeting at the invitation of Fidan.
In a post on X, the FO said that upon his arrival, Dar arrived in Istanbul and was received by Director General of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Cihad Erginay and Pakistan’s Chargé d’Affaires Shaiq Ahmed.
The FO added that during his one-day visit, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Dar would participate in the R-4 and R-4-plus meetings with France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Dar would also call on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts, it said.
Earlier, the FO said that the ministers will participate in a meeting with counterparts from the European E-3 bloc — UK, France, and Germany — following the R-4 meeting.
The E-3 group comprises three European powers that established the grouping more than 20 years ago to advance diplomatic coordination on Iran’s nuclear programme. Italy will also be a part of the meeting, the FO had added.
“This will be the first meeting of the seven countries in this format,” the FO said.
“The meetings will focus on key regional developments and explore coordinated diplomatic approaches to address shared challenges and advance regional peace and stability,” it added.
DPM Dar is also set to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts during his visit as well.
“Pakistan’s participation reflects its continued commitment to constructive diplomacy, regional cooperation and the peaceful resolution of disputes,” the FO said.
Talks to revolve around Hormuz, Saudi Arabia
British foreign minister Ed Miliband’s office said the talks would essentially revolve around “the Strait of Hormuz and the situation in Saudi Arabia”.
It said Miliband “will advocate for a diplomatic solution to the (Hormuz) crisis that restores full navigational rights and freedoms”.
He will also stress “how Iranian tactics are being replicated across the region, with attacks on Saudi Arabia further destabilising the region and increasing pressure on vital waterways and global chokepoints, such as Bab El-Mandeb and the Suez Canal”, it added.
France confirmed the talks on “the Iranian crisis in its various ramifications”, hailing it as a first “in this format… against a backdrop of extreme instability and uncertainty in the region.”
The meeting will aim to “strengthen coordination between Europeans and Middle Eastern countries in the face of crises that we did not choose and that affect us all,” the French foreign ministry said.
A Turkish diplomatic source also told Reuters a day earlier that the seven countries would meet in the R-4+E-3 format for the first time at Turkiye’s initiative as wars involving Iran, Yemen and Ukraine threaten shipping routes and regional security.
Fidan is expected to emphasise the need for a diplomatic solution to the war between the United States and Iran, the importance of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb, and reiterate Turkiye’s support for Saudi Arabia’s security against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed by Islamabad, Ankara, and Riyadh, the sources said.
The Makkah defence pact, signed on Aug 7, aims to strengthen collective deterrence and empower its signatory states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them.