Ministers and military commanders from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were to gather in Riyadh on Monday for talks on the Makkah defence pact, Ankara and Islamabad said.
Defence and foreign ministers as well as army chiefs from Turkey and Pakistan will attend a meeting of the Makkah pact’s strategic political and defence committee, statements from the Turkish and Pakistani foreign ministries said. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi officials or state media but Pakistan’s statement said its officials would be meeting “counterparts” from the kingdom in its capital.
The talks come as the war between Iran, the US and Israel drags on, and as Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue to launch ballistic missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, including on energy infrastructure.
“The meeting's focus would definitely be Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia,” a Pakistani Foreign Ministry official briefed on the talks told The National.
Monday’s meeting, expected to start in the late afternoon, will discuss “the stage reached in the alliance’s institutionalisation efforts”, the Turkish statement said, following the committee’s inaugural meeting in Istanbul in August.
Pakistan’s participation indicates the country’s resolve “to continue contributing towards regional peace and stability”, the statement from Islamabad said.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar posted pictures on X from Madinah, from where he would travel on to Riyadh for the meeting, he said.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August in an attempt to strengthen regional security as conflicts continued across the Middle East.
The kingdom backs the internationally recognised government in Yemen, which is battling the Houthis.
Rashad Al Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, on Sunday announced the start of military operations to reclaim territory held by the rebel group, which in the past few weeks has captured the Bab Al Mandeb strait and about 150km of Red Sea coastline, increasing its leverage over a vital international shipping route.
The text of the Makkah pact has not been made public but a joint statement from the three countries at the time of its signing said it was intended to strengthen collective deterrence. Similar to Nato's Article 5 on collective defence, an attack on one country would be considered an attack on all.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan and major oil exporter Saudi Arabia already have a bilateral defence agreement but the three countries together represent a stronger alliance. Nato member Turkey is seeking opportunities for military co-operation as it builds out a burgeoning domestic defence manufacturing industry.
