Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday, as tensions continue to rise across the Middle East.
The pact would further strengthen the ties among three major Sunni Muslim powers that are allied with the United States. However, there was no immediate clarity on the specific commitments each country would undertake or how the agreement could affect the wider regional crisis.
The three countries share growing concerns over instability in the Middle East, Iran's regional role and an increasingly assertive Israel, as the US struggles to contain escalating threats.
Turkey has NATO's second-largest military, while Saudi Arabia is one of the major Gulf states, and home to Islam's holiest sites and one of the world's largest oil exporters. Pakistan, meanwhile, is the only nuclear-armed Muslim country.
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Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by army chief Asim Munir, arrived in Jeddah on Thursday and performed Umrah in Mecca. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan travelled to Jeddah on Friday. The leaders are expected to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as reported by Reuters.
Saudi Arabia has faced repeated attacks from Iran, as well as from Tehran's Houthi allies in Yemen and Shi'ite militias in Iraq, since the war began on Feb. 28. The conflict has also exposed Gulf security vulnerabilities and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the war.
The agreement follows nearly a year of negotiations. In January, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara supported a broader regional security platform aimed at cooperation and stability.
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The pact builds on longstanding military ties. Pakistan has provided training and technical assistance to Saudi forces for decades, while Turkey and Pakistan have exchanged warships and training aircraft.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia agreed to buy Turkish drones in what Ankara described as its largest defence export contract.
Pakistan has also deployed about 8,000 troops, fighter jets, drones and an air-defence system to Saudi Arabia during the conflict, and has pursued wider Gulf security partnerships, including talks with Kuwait on an expanded pact linked to energy cooperation and investment.
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