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Turkiye is reportedly seeking entry into a mutual defence agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, potentially paving the way for a new security alignment that could shift the balance of power in the Middle East and beyond, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

Citing people familiar with the matter, who spoke anonymously, Bloomberg reported that the talks are at an advanced stage and “a deal is very likely”.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had signed a “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” in Riyadh last September, pledging that any attack on either nation would be treated as an act of aggression against both.

“The expanded alliance would make sense because Turkiye’s interests increasingly overlap with those of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in South Asia, the Middle East and even Africa,” the Bloomberg report said.