Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye Institutionalise Defence Pact With New Secretariat

The foreign and defence ministers of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye met with the chiefs of their defence forces in Istanbul on August 31 under the Strategic Political and Defence Committee created by the Makkah Agreement, according to a joint statement issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The participants reiterated their determination to collaborate within the framework for sustainable peace and stability across the region. They pledged continued support for de-escalation measures and peaceful crisis resolution while taking concrete steps to strengthen their solidarity and collective deterrence. The gathering represented the first major push to translate the August pact into operational mechanisms.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed on August 7, 2026, at a summit in Makkah hosted by Saudi Arabia and attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a separate trilateral statement released that day showed. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman represented the Kingdom at the ceremony. The original document committed the three nations to treat an armed attack on any one as an attack against all three while expanding cooperation across all areas of defence.
A secretariat headed by a secretary-general will now be based in Saudi Arabia to coordinate activities under the agreement, the August 31 joint statement said. Pakistan will provide the first secretary-general, who will serve an initial term of three years. This structure is designed to support ongoing implementation and enhance the credibility of their shared defence posture.
Through joint activities the three countries will work to bolster the capabilities and cohesion of their armed forces with an emphasis on defence industry collaboration, technology development and co-production, according to the Istanbul statement. The participants framed their efforts as an exercise in regional ownership aimed at fostering cooperative security. The initiative seeks to contribute to a just, inclusive and lasting peace in the broader area.
Longstanding historical ties, Islamic solidarity and mutual strategic interests formed the foundation for the Makkah Agreement, the August 7 summit statement noted. The pact builds on prior defence cooperation among the three nations, which rank among the largest military powers in the Muslim world. Officials have described the framework as a response to evolving regional and global security challenges.