Senior officials from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are set to meet in Istanbul on Monday for the first committee meeting under their recently signed joint defence agreement, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source told Reuters.
The meeting will be attended by the foreign and defence ministers of the three countries, along with their respective military chiefs.
Discussions are expected to centre on enhancing defence capabilities, increasing coordination among their armed forces and expanding cooperation in the defence sector, including joint development and production.
“International security issues will be on the agenda,” the source told Reuters.
The meeting comes six months after the US and Israel launched a war against Iran, disrupting energy supplies and contributing to a global energy crisis.
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan also have concerns about the military strategies of Israel and Iran, giving the talks a broader regional security focus.
WHAT IS THE MECCA DEFENCE AGREEMENT?
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7 amid escalating regional tensions linked to the Iran war.
Under the pact, an armed attack against any one of the three countries will be considered an attack against all three. The provision resembles NATO’s Article 5, which commits members to collective defence.
The agreement aims to strengthen collective deterrence and enhance the three countries’ ability to respond together to external threats.
The three US allies have been monitoring the expansion of the regional conflict, including Iranian missile strikes targeting Gulf countries that export oil.
Turkey has the second-largest military in NATO, Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state and Saudi Arabia is among the world’s biggest oil exporters. The pact combines their military, strategic and economic capabilities within a shared security framework.
MECCA PACT MAY EXPAND
Turkey has indicated that the defence agreement could eventually include additional countries, with Egypt emerging as a possible new member.
Egypt has one of the region’s largest armed forces and already cooperates closely with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan through an informal grouping known as “STEP”.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told state-run Anadolu Agency that several countries had shown interest in joining the pact, adding that their entry was being delayed only by technical matters.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Cairo was examining the agreement “very seriously”, but noted that any decision would require a thorough review of Egypt’s Constitution and its existing legal obligations.
Ankara has stressed that the agreement is designed to work alongside existing alliances and security arrangements rather than replace them.
