R4, E3 Foreign Ministers Meet in Istanbul; Dar Attends

Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are meeting their European counterparts in Istanbul on Friday, October 23, for high-level talks aimed at strengthening diplomatic coordination, restoring freedom of navigation through key waterways and promoting regional peace and stability.

Participants

The meeting is hosted by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and brings together the R4 group (Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt) and the E3 (Britain, France and Germany), with Italy also joining the wider discussions. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is attending, alongside Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. According to the Foreign Office, Dar arrived for a one-day visit to take part in the R4 and R4 Plus meetings, and is also expected to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and hold bilateral meetings.

First of Its Kind

A Turkish source said it is the first R4-E3 meeting in this format, held at Türkiye’s initiative. The E3 was set up more than two decades ago to coordinate diplomacy on Iran’s nuclear programme. The R4 was formed this year and brings Egypt together with the three signatories of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, which Türkiye has said is not directed against any country and is open to others.

Agenda

• Freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, and the security of Saudi Arabia.

• The US-Iran conflict, Yemen, the Palestinian issue and efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

• Practical cooperation between European and Middle Eastern countries, and coordinated diplomacy to prevent conflicts from spreading.

Before the meeting, Fidan said that diplomacy and mediation are now more necessary than ever, and that lasting solutions cannot be imposed from outside