Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye sign Makkah Joint Defence Agreement
Turkish president in Saudi Arabia for talks with PM Shehbaz, Saudi crown prince
Anadolu Agency/
Reuters/
Web DeskAugust 07, 20265 min read
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince MBS, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, CDF Field Marshal Asim Munir pictured in Makkah. PHOTO: X
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, reaffirming their commitment to collective security, defence cooperation and regional stability, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
The agreement was signed during the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence, held at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah on Friday, the statement said.
The Foreign Office said the agreement builds on the three countries' longstanding historical ties, shared strategic interests and defence cooperation. It said the pact reflects their collective commitment to strengthening security cooperation while promoting peace, security and stability across the region and beyond.
According to the ministry, the agreement establishes a framework for collective deterrence against acts of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three signatory states will be regarded as an attack against all three.
The agreement also provides for enhanced cooperation across all aspects of defence between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, the FO said.
According to the FO, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman received him and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Al-Safa Palace ahead of the summit.
The ministry said the three leaders reviewed the longstanding relations among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, along with a range of issues of mutual interest.
The three nations share growing concerns over Middle East chaos and an increasingly assertive Israel, as the United States struggles to contain regional threats.
Turkey has NATO's second-largest military. Saudi Arabia, the strongest Gulf state, is home to Islam's holiest sites and one of the world's top oil exporters, while Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim country.
Earlier, Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday for a one-day working visit.
Erdogan's plane landed at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, where he was welcomed by Mishaal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, deputy governor of the Makkah Region, Türkiye's Ambassador to Riyadh Emrullah Isler, and Consul General in Jeddah Mustafa Unal.
The president then departed for the holy city of Makkah by road. During the visit, Erdogan is expected to meet Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Earlier, sources with knowledge of the matter told
Reuters that Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are expected to sign a joint defence agreement in Makkah amid regional turmoil with Gulf states coming under fire from Iran after it was attacked by the US and Israel.
Two regional sources with direct knowledge of the matter said the deal would be signed on Friday, which was later confirmed by a Turkish official. Another regional source said it was not clear whether the agreement would also be publicly announced on Friday.
PM Shehbaz, accompanied by Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, arrived in Jeddah on Thursday and performed the Umrah pilgrimage in Makkah. They met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose country has been repeatedly struck by Iran, as well as by Tehran's Houthi allies in Yemen and militia in Iraq, since the war began on February 28.
The conflict has also exposed Gulf states' security vulnerabilities and disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas transited before the war. Their pact follows nearly a year of negotiations, reported by
Reuters in January, when Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara favoured a broader regional security platform to promote cooperation and stability.
This defence pact also follows the "Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement" signed in September 2025 between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. It stated that "any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both", according to a Pakistan-Saudi joint statement at the time.
"Building on the historic partnership extending for nearly eight decades between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and based on the bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity, as well as shared strategic interests and close defense cooperation between the two countries, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister and His Excellency Mr. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan signed the 'Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement'," it read.
It added that the agreement "reflects the shared commitment of both nations to enhance their security and to achieving security and peace in the region and the world, aims to develop aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression."
The agreement stated that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both."
At the time, the pact was seen as significant as Israel had conducted strikes on Qatar, however a Saudi official told
Reuters that the agreement was not meant to respond to any specific event rather reflected the longstanding strategic cooperation between Islamabad and Riyadh.
In practice, Pakistan has sought to avoid becoming militarily entangled in the Iran war, instead opting to try to mediate with Iran.
Pact builds on longstanding military ties
Turkiye and Pakistan, on the borders of the Middle East, are anxious to calm conflicts that threaten their own security and economic health.
For Saudi Arabia, the consequences of three years of widespread Middle East conflicts have been more severe - bringing it under direct fire from three directions, imperilling its oil exports and ambitious development plans and drawing big questions over the reliability of its longstanding US security umbrella.
Sealing Friday's agreement in Makkah, the holiest site in Islam, will add symbolic heft to a pact that builds on longstanding bilateral military ties among the three countries.
Pakistan has provided training and technical assistance to Saudi forces for decades, while Turkiye and Pakistan have exchanged warships and training aircraft. In 2023, Riyadh agreed to buy Turkish drones in what Ankara called its largest defence export contract.
Pakistan has since deployed about 8,000
troops, fighter jets, drones and an air-defence system to the kingdom,
Reuters reported in May, and has pursued wider Gulf security ties. It has opened negotiations with Kuwait over an
expanded pact in exchange for energy cooperation and investment,
Reuters reported in July.
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Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are expected to sign a joint defence agreement in Makkah
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