Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that the Mecca Alliance was established to safeguard regional security. Fidan spoke at the opening of the 9th Istanbul Mediation Conference. Noting that the world is being tested by growing global insecurity, Fidan said that conflicts are affecting critical trade and maritime routes and that ceasefire violations have become routine. According to the UN, a quarter of the world’s population lives in conflict zones. He said that a civilian loses their life every 12 minutes, that more than 100 million people have been displaced, and that approximately 40 percent of them are children.
This tragedy was seen clearly in Palestine. Fidan stated that the invasion in Gaza and the West Bank was met with impunity. Israeli forces violated the ceasefire every day. Noting that these violations eroded trust in the international system, Fidan emphasized that access to humanitarian aid and the protection of children must be priorities, and stated that the dispute could be transformed into a just political solution.
Three principles stood out. In the relevant part of his speech, Fidan listed the three principles he put forward to channel change toward peace separately under the following three headings: – Genuine dialogue – Sustainable mediation – Regional ownership
Fidan noted that the Mecca Defense Alliance and the Balkan Peace Platform are examples of regional ownership in practice. He also gave the example of Libya. Fidan further stated that Turkey’s efforts in Libya constitute an example of confidence-building based on inclusiveness, together with consent and mutual trust. Rules must be applied correctly. As Erdoğan and Guterres pointed out, he said that if rules are not applied correctly, institutions lose their credibility, and that rebuilding trust is essential for mediation.
Why it matters
The figures cited by Fidan show that mediation is being presented not as a preference but as a necessity; when conflicts reach critical trade and maritime routes, the issue concerns not only the warring parties but everyone who uses these corridors. The citing of the Mecca Defense Alliance and the Balkan Peace Platform as examples demonstrates that Turkey advocates an approach that places regional mechanisms at the center of security and crisis resolution. The emphasis on the ceasefire in Gaza being violated every day gives concrete form to the argument that if agreements reached through mediation are not implemented, trust in international institutions will erode. The emphasis on consent and mutual trust regarding Libya, meanwhile, reflects Turkey’s effort to present its own foreign policy practice as evidence of these principles. The speech does not answer how the three proposed principles would be put into practice on the ground or whether there is any enforcement mechanism to stop violations.
Background
The Minister is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 26 stories featuring this name in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated October 22, 2026.