Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed the “Mecca Agreement for Joint Defense,” according to an official statement on Friday, with the aim of strengthening defense cooperation amid the war in the Middle East.
The joint Turkish-Saudi-Pakistani statement said that the agreement stipulates the development of defense cooperation between the three countries in all its dimensions.
Pakistan said the defense agreement stipulates that any armed attack against any of the three countries is considered an attack against all of them.
The agreement, signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, comes amid the war between Iran on one side, and the United States and Israel on the other, and the regional changes it imposes in terms of influence and alliances.
This also comes amid renewed conflict between Riyadh, which supports the internationally recognized Yemeni government, and the Houthi rebels backed by Tehran, who launched projectiles towards the south of the kingdom on Thursday night into Friday, injuring 11 people, according to an official Saudi source.
A Turkish official said on Friday that the defense agreement signed between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is purely defensive in nature and pledges to provide mutual support only in the defense field.
The official added that the agreement is not targeted at any specific party and is open to other regional states as well. He continued, saying that the agreement does not supersede or replace any existing bilateral or multilateral agreements between these countries or with other countries and organizations.
Earlier, a source close to the Saudi military announced that Mohammed bin Salman, Erdogan and Sharif would sign a joint defense agreement on Friday.
Speculation has been growing for months that the three Sunni Muslim countries are seeking to form a strong alliance amid escalating tensions in the region.
The source, who preferred not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said that “Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey will sign a joint defense agreement in Jeddah on Friday.” He added, “It has been under discussion for a long time, but recent developments in the region have accelerated its pace.”
Sharif and Pakistani army chief Asim Munir arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for a visit that will last until Saturday, while Erdogan arrived on Friday, according to the Turkish presidency.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are already bound by a joint defense agreement announced in 2025. The agreement has raised many questions, particularly regarding the possibility of including a clause on nuclear energy, given that Islamabad possesses nuclear weapons.
Last January, a source close to the Saudi military reported that Turkey would not join the joint defense agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, after a Turkish official at the time indicated that Ankara was in talks to join the alliance.
