Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan sign joint defense agreement at Mecca summit

Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a joint defense agreement at a trilateral summit in Mecca on Friday, pledging to strengthen collective security, deepen defense cooperation and promote peace and stability in the region and beyond.
The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the summit held at Al-Safa Palace.
According to a statement by Türkiye's Communications Directorate, the agreement reflects the three countries' shared commitment to reinforcing their collective security, building on longstanding historical ties, Islamic solidarity, common strategic interests and close defense cooperation.
According to information obtained from Turkish officials, the agreement is a defense-oriented cooperation arrangement that targets no country and is designed to strengthen commitments to regional and global peace, stability and prosperity through burden-sharing and a common security approach.
The agreement aims to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three countries shall be regarded as an attack against them all, the officials added.
They described the agreement as the tangible outcome of long-term diplomatic efforts carried out under the principle of regional ownership to establish a common framework for addressing growing regional and international security threats.
The agreement also provides for expanded defense cooperation, including defense industry collaboration and military interoperability, among the three countries, the officials said.
The officials said the agreement complements existing alliances rather than replacing them, strengthens regional security and remains open to participation by other regional countries, describing it as "a pillar of peace, stability and security in the region."
They said Türkiye's NATO membership and its regional partnerships are "complementary rather than alternative" frameworks that strengthen security burden-sharing.
The Mecca agreement is "not an aggressive military bloc, containment initiative or offensive plan," they said, but a defensive arrangement that contributes to regional stability and the goal of a "terror-free region."
The officials stressed the agreement "targets no country," keeps dialogue channels open and reaffirms the parties' commitment to collective defense and mutual security under Article 51 of the UN Charter. They also described the pact as "entirely defensive," strengthening defense industry cooperation and military interoperability.
Calling the agreement "historic" for the region and the Islamic world, the officials said: "The regional security architecture has been redesigned with the Mecca Agreement."
They also said the agreement does not affect Türkiye's existing international obligations and called cooperation among Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan "the modern strategic expression of a historic responsibility" rooted in shared history, faith and brotherhood.