Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan have signed a landmark joint defence pact declaring that an armed attack on any one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack on all. The pact is seen as a major development that could reshape regional security amid Israel’s expansionist wars and growing uncertainty over the reliability of the US security umbrella.
The “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement”, signed today, is intended to strengthen collective deterrence and security cooperation between three of the Muslim world’s most militarily and strategically significant states.
“The agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression” and stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three countries “would be regarded as an attack on all”, according to a joint statement cited by Reuters.
The pact brings together NATO member Turkiye, which has the alliance’s second-largest military, nuclear-armed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, one of the Gulf’s most powerful states and the world’s leading oil exporters.
A Turkish official described the agreement as “purely defensive in nature”, saying it pledged mutual support for defence and was not aimed at any particular country. The official added that the arrangement was open to other regional states and would not replace existing bilateral or multilateral commitments.
