Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan Sign Mecca Joint Defence Agreement

Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on Friday signed a landmark trilateral defence pact in the holy city of Mecca, committing to treat an armed attack on any one of them as an attack on all three.

The “Makkah Joint Defence Agreement” was signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence at Al-Safa Palace.

A joint statement said the agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three states. It builds on longstanding historical ties, Islamic solidarity and existing bilateral defence arrangements, including a 2025 Saudi-Pakistan mutual defence pact.

Officials described the pact as purely defensive, open to other regional countries, and not directed against any specific actor. It does not replace existing bilateral or multilateral commitments. Turkish sources indicated it is expected to facilitate joint exercises, training, intelligence sharing and defence industry collaboration.

The signing comes amid heightened regional tensions following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February and subsequent retaliatory attacks on Gulf states. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, had arrived a day earlier and performed Umrah before the summit.

The three countries bring complementary strengths: Türkiye with NATO’s second-largest military and a growing defence industry, Saudi Arabia as a major oil exporter and host of Islam’s holiest sites, and Pakistan as the only nuclear-armed Muslim nation.