Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signing the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a joint defence agreement on August 7 amid violence in the region from Houthi attacks and the US-Iran war. Photo: Pakistan Prime Minister's Office / AFP / Lehtikuva
International news
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday that commits the three countries to regard an armed attack against one member as an attack against all three. The agreement comes as the war against Iran, Houthi attacks and disruption to shipping routes put pressure on security across the Middle East.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the agreement during talks in the Saudi city, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said the pact seeks to strengthen collective deterrence and deepen existing defence cooperation between the three states.
