Islamabad (The Thursday Times) — In a development that places Islamabad at the centre of an important regional diplomatic moment, Pakistan will host the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt for a series of high-level meetings beginning on Sunday, according to details shared exclusively with The Thursday Times by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
Ishaq Dar told The Thursday Times that Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on the morning of Sunday, 29 March. Both ministers are expected to hold separate bilateral meetings with Dar, in talks likely to focus on regional coordination, strategic diplomacy and the next phase of political engagement among the four countries.
He further confirmed that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud will arrive in Islamabad later the same day. Upon arrival, he is expected to hold a key bilateral meeting with his Pakistani counterpart before joining a wider ministerial session involving all four countries.
According to Dar, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan will meet on Sunday for what is expected to be the central diplomatic engagement of the visit. A formal dinner will follow the meeting, after which a joint communiqué is expected to be issued, offering the clearest indication yet of the direction and substance of the talks.
Sources speaking to The Thursday Times also said that the visiting foreign ministers are expected to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, 30 March, in what would add further political weight to the gathering and underline the significance Islamabad is attaching to the visit.
The Islamabad meeting is understood to be part of an ongoing diplomatic sequence rather than a stand-alone event. It follows an important meeting held in Riyadh on 19 March between the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan, suggesting that the four countries are moving towards a more structured framework of consultation at a time of heightened regional uncertainty and strategic flux.
With multiple bilateral sessions, a joint ministerial meeting and a planned communiqué, the Islamabad gathering is likely to be watched closely for signs of deeper alignment among the four capitals and for clues about Pakistan’s place in an increasingly active regional diplomatic bloc.
