Fidan hosts four-nation meeting at Antalya forum as ceasefire efforts continue
ANTALYA
This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Foreign Ministry on April 17, 2026, shows Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (2nd R), Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud (R), Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty (L) and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2nd L) poses family photo during the 5th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2026) in Antalya.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on April 18 on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, as Türkiye stepped up diplomatic efforts to help preserve the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran and push for a broader regional de-escalation.
Turkish diplomatic sources confirmed the four-way meeting but did not disclose further details.
The meeting came during the fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum, held on April 17-19.
The gathering has brought together representatives from more than 150 countries in Antalya, including heads of state, ministers and senior officials, as Ankara uses the forum both as a public diplomatic platform and as a venue for intensive behind-the-scenes contacts.
In his opening address, Fidan said Türkiye’s “sincere hope” was that the 14-day ceasefire reached on April 8 would be fully implemented and turned into lasting peace.
He said the immediate priority was “putting out the fire” in the region and argued that diplomacy should be used to stop the crisis from spreading further.
Fidan said uncertainty and crisis had become defining features of the age and argued that the war centered on Iran had left the region facing one of the most serious tests in its recent history.
He praised those who helped secure the truce, singling out Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while urging the international community not to ignore what he called the deeper causes behind the conflict.
He also renewed Türkiye’s criticism of Israel’s regional policies, warning that lasting peace would require stopping what he described as expansionism that began with Gaza and spread to a wider arc of instability.
At the same time, he said the rare international consensus that emerged during ceasefire efforts should be used in favor of dialogue rather than confrontation.
Fidan used the speech to lay out two broader priorities for the future: reform of global institutions and the construction of a more durable regional order.
He said the current international system had become too weak, exclusionary and illegitimate to manage modern crises, while arguing that lasting peace in the region would depend on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, stronger regional security cooperation and progress toward a two-state solution for Palestine.