RIYADH, 08 August 2026 (TON): Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a trilateral defence agreement ‘Mecca Pact’, committing themselves to closer military cooperation and a collective security framework.
The agreement was finalised after a high-level summit in the holy city of Mecca attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was visiting the Kingdom after performing the Umrah pilgrimage.
According to a joint declaration issued after the summit, the three countries agreed to institutionalise defence cooperation through enhanced military coordination, strategic consultations and joint security mechanisms. A key feature of the pact is a mutual defence clause that treats an armed attack against any one of the three signatories as an attack against all, signalling a significant step towards formalised collective security among the partners.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry described the agreement as a natural progression of the countries’ longstanding political, strategic and defence ties. The Foreign Office said, the agreement is intended to enhance collective deterrence and deepen defence collaboration in response to emerging regional security challenges.
Turkish officials sought to allay concerns by describing the new arrangement as a purely defensive initiative. They maintained that the pact is not directed against any particular country, does not replace existing bilateral or multilateral security arrangements and remains open to broader regional cooperation should other countries choose to participate.