Top officials from the countries party to the historic Mecca Joint Defense Agreement convened in Istanbul on Monday on the occasion of the first meeting of the Strategic, Political and Defense Committee established to advance the deal. An army of journalists, including Daily Sabah managing editor Batuhan Takış, covered the key meeting highly anticipated by friends and foes of Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Speaking after the meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said they decided to name the alliance the Mecca Defense Alliance. He said the first secretary-general of the alliance would be a Pakistani official and the secretariat's offices would be based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He emphasized that the alliance would "reduce uncertainty and instability" in the region.
Along with Fidan, the meeting was attended by Türkiye's National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and Chief of the General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, and Chief of the General Staff General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al Ruwaili.
