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The Saudi Council of Ministers on Tuesday praised the outcomes of the inaugural session of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee formed under the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan. Chaired by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, the weekly Cabinet meeting characterized the committee as an effective platform for collective deterrence and defense following its first gathering in Istanbul the previous day. According to a statement issued by Minister of Media Salman Al-Dossary to the Saudi Press Agency, the participants agreed on further institutional steps including the establishment of a General Secretariat headquartered in Saudi Arabia and the activation of joint cooperation mechanisms to bolster coordination and support international security efforts.
The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement was signed on August 7 in Mecca by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as reported at the time by Reuters and other international outlets. The pact stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three nations would be considered an attack on all, echoing the collective defense principle in NATO’s Article 5. A joint statement following the signing emphasized the goal of strengthening shared deterrence against aggression while promoting peace, stability and prosperity across the region and beyond.
High-level delegations attended the Istanbul meeting on August 31, with Saudi Arabia represented by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Chief of General Staff Gen. Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili. Turkish officials included Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, while Pakistan was represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and Chief of Army Staff Gen. Asim Munir, according to details released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry and covered by Al Jazeera. The committee focused on turning the August political agreement into practical measures for closer military and security integration.
Discussions during the Istanbul session addressed military interoperability among the armed forces, joint exercises, defense industry collaboration including potential co-production projects, and coordinated counterterrorism activities, as outlined in reports from The National and Reuters. Officials from the three countries affirmed their commitment to institutionalizing the partnership through the planned secretariat in Saudi Arabia to sustain momentum on these fronts. The meeting represented the first operational follow-through on the pact, which emerged amid heightened regional tensions including conflicts involving Iran.
In parallel with the defense review, the Cabinet examined outcomes from the 23rd Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support for the body’s role in advancing Islamic causes and Muslim aspirations for peace. The ministers congratulated Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on his election as the new OIC secretary general and expressed appreciation for the contributions of outgoing secretary general Hissein Brahim Taha. The session also reviewed a message received by the Crown Prince from Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman as part of ongoing bilateral consultations.
The Cabinet additionally noted Saudi Arabia’s re-election as chair of the Executive Council of the Arab Administrative Development Organization along with the accreditation of 21 Saudi cities as healthy urban centers by the World Health Organization. It welcomed a United Nations award granted to the National Greening Program for its work on land restoration, vegetation expansion and biodiversity protection. Among legislative actions, the Council approved a new Cooperative Law, designated May 12 annually as Organ Donation Day and authorized several memorandums of understanding with partner nations including Syria, Djibouti and Poland.
