Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has confirmed that the three-way security pact linking Ankara, Islamabad and Riyadh now carries a new title, the Makkah Defence Alliance. He added that a Pakistani official will take on the role of the alliance’s first secretary general.
The announcement came during a press briefing following the opening session of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, a body created under the original tripartite arrangement, held in Istanbul. Fidan noted that the alliance’s secretariat will be headquartered in Riyadh.
The grouping was initially known as the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement before this rebranding.
Expansion Plans for the Alliance
According to Fidan, officials are drafting a roadmap that would allow other nations to eventually join the Makkah Defence Alliance. He described the Istanbul gathering as focused on advancing peace, stability and shared prosperity across the region, expressing confidence that the outcomes of the talks would produce tangible progress.
Fidan explained that the session was designed to map out how responsibilities would be divided among the three nations at a time of heightened regional and international tension. Talks also touched on broader security concerns, ways to build up each country’s military strength, and closer coordination between their armed forces.
The overarching goal, Fidan said, is to reinforce joint defence capacity and a shared sense of deterrence among the member states. Counterterrorism cooperation featured prominently on the agenda as well, alongside discussions on defence-industry collaboration, covering joint manufacturing and research and development work.
Officials also began outlining the structure needed to formally establish the alliance’s secretariat and the mechanisms that would oversee its joint operations going forward. Fidan was careful to stress that the alliance is not aimed at any particular nation and remains open to any friendly country willing to accept its founding principles.
Pakistan’s Delegation and Broader Defence Talks
Representing Pakistan at the high-level trilateral talks were Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir. Their Turkish and Saudi counterparts, including foreign and defence ministers along with the respective chiefs of general staff, also took part.
Pakistan’s involvement in the Pakistan Turkiye Saudi Arabia defence pact underscores the country’s longstanding ties with both nations and its broader commitment to sustained regional peace.
The original agreement was formalized on August 7, drawing the three Muslim-majority states together in response to the Middle East conflict that erupted on February 28, when US and Israeli forces struck Iranian targets and senior leadership figures. Much like NATO’s Article 5 provision, the pact states that an attack on any one of the three signatories will be treated as an attack on all of them, reinforcing collective deterrence against aggression.
Army Chief Holds Talks with Turkish and Saudi Officials
Separately, Pakistan’s military media wing, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), reported that Field Marshal Asim Munir held a series of meetings during his visit to Istanbul. He met individually with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Turkish FM Fidan, National Defence Minister Yasar Guler, and Chief of the Turkish General Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu.
These discussions centered on mutual defence interests, bilateral cooperation, and the current regional security landscape, the ISPR statement noted. Munir was also present at the Strategic Political and Defence Committee meeting, where the three sides explored ways to deepen strategic and defence coordination.
ISPR described the various engagements as evidence of the strengthening brotherhood and expanding defence ties between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
In a post on X, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman confirmed his meeting with Munir, noting that the two discussed opportunities for expanding military cooperation and reviewed the current regional situation along with joint response measures.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif met separately with Turkish National Defence Minister Yasar Guler in Istanbul, where both sides agreed to deepen defence collaboration across the region.