Summary
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has landed in Istanbul for a fresh round of regional diplomacy, arriving directly from London where he had just concluded an official visit to the UK. The Ishaq Dar Istanbul visit brings together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt for talks that carry real weight given recent developments in regional security arrangements.
Background
The Istanbul trip didn’t come out of nowhere. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan personally invited Dar to the gathering during a phone call earlier in the month, and Dar accepted almost immediately, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Office.
This isn’t the first time this particular grouping of four countries, informally referred to as the R4, has met. An earlier session took place in Amman in early August on the sidelines of a separate ministerial meeting focused on Jerusalem, where the same four ministers discussed the regional situation.
What makes this Istanbul round different is the backdrop. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, a pact that commits the three countries to treat an armed attack on any one member as an attack on all of them.
Details
The Foreign Office confirmed that Dar arrived in Istanbul to “undertake official engagements,” a phrase that covers both the R4 quartet meeting and likely a set of bilateral sideline conversations with his counterparts from the other three countries.
In the run-up to the trip, Dar held separate phone calls with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to firm up preparations, according to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both calls touched on the evolving regional situation and the practical arrangements for the upcoming meeting.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty rounds out the quartet, and his country’s role in the discussions is being watched closely. Turkish officials had earlier signaled that Cairo could eventually be brought into the broader defense arrangement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, though Egypt did not sign onto the Makkah pact when it was finalized.
The meeting is expected to focus heavily on coordinating positions on regional security, though the exact agenda beyond the defense-pact follow-up has not been fully detailed publicly.
Quotes
Pakistan’s Foreign Office kept its public description of the visit brief, stating only that Dar would carry out official engagements during his stay in Istanbul, without elaborating further on the specific meetings planned.
Turkish and Pakistani officials, in their earlier phone conversation, agreed to remain in close contact ahead of the gathering, a signal that both sides view the coordination as an ongoing process rather than a one-off event.
Impact
The Istanbul meeting matters well beyond the four countries directly involved. It’s the first major R4 gathering since the Makkah defense pact was signed, meaning any statements or joint positions to emerge from it will be read as an early indicator of how seriously the four countries intend to operationalize that agreement.
For Pakistan specifically, back-to-back engagement with London and then Istanbul within the same week signals an attempt to run parallel diplomatic tracks: one focused on Western economic and security partnerships, the other on deepening ties with fellow Muslim-majority states navigating a volatile regional environment.
The broader Middle East backdrop, including tensions linked to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, adds urgency to the kind of coordination this meeting represents, even if none of the four countries involved are direct parties to that conflict.
Conclusion
As the R4 foreign ministers sit down in Istanbul, the immediate question is whether the meeting produces a formal joint statement or simply reinforces existing coordination channels. Given that this is the first such gathering since the Makkah agreement, any concrete follow-up steps announced here are likely to shape how closely Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt work together going forward, and further details are expected once the talks conclude.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is DPM Ishaq Dar?
Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar is Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, a role in which he oversees the country’s foreign policy and represents Pakistan at major bilateral and multilateral forums. He has a long political career that includes multiple terms as finance minister, and he remains closely tied to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party leadership.
Why did Ishaq Dar visit the UK?
Before heading to Istanbul, Dar spent five days in London holding talks with senior British officials, including the UK Foreign Secretary, as part of an effort to build on a trade cooperation agreement reached between Pakistan and the UK in July. He also raised the case of Pakistani sailors held hostage by Somali pirates with the International Maritime Organisation and met with representatives of the Pakistani diaspora community during the trip.
Why is Ishaq Dar visiting Istanbul after the UK?
The Istanbul trip is centered on a meeting of foreign ministers from Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, an invitation extended personally by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The timing is significant because it’s the first such quartet meeting since Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed a mutual defense agreement in Makkah on August 7, making this gathering an early test of how the four countries plan to coordinate going forward.
