BEIRUT — The recently signed trilateral defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan is expected to boost arms sales from Ankara to Riyadh specifically, but will more broadly bring the defense industries of all three nations into a tighter “ecosystem,” analysts told Breaking Defense.
“The Mecca Pact should not be viewed simply as an arms-export agreement. It is much broader,” said Ali Bakir, defense analyst and an assistant professor at Qatar University. “It aims to facilitate joint investment in defense industries, major defense projects, technology transfer, local production, research and development, training, and the integration of complementary capabilities. Over time, this could transform the relationship from a buyer-seller model into a genuine defense-industrial partnership.”
The so-called Mecca pact was signed on Aug. 7 and aims “to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all. It further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defense cooperation among the three states.”
While the practical consequences of the collective defense portion of the agreement — likened to NATO’s Article V — could be shortly tested as Saudi Arabia has been in Iran’s crosshairs in recent months, analysts said the defense industrial cooperation aspect will have lasting consequences, especially for Riyadh and Ankara.
