‘Landmark’ Makkah defense pact rooted in ‘sense of responsibility’ not confrontation, says envoy
NEW YORK CITY: Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, described a newly signed trilateral defense agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye as “one of the most important events in recent weeks,” and told Arab News it represents a landmark in regional security cooperation.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on Aug. 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, builds on the September 2025 Pakistan-Saudi Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement.
Under the pact, an armed attack against any one of the three states will be regarded as an attack against all of them, mirroring the principle of collective defense that underpins NATO.
Officials from all three countries stressed that the agreement is defensive in nature and not directed at any other state.
