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Saudi officials said Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Hakan Fidan reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries during their meeting on August 31. The ministers discussed ways to strengthen and develop cooperation in fields that serve their shared interests while stressing the need to intensify efforts to enhance security and stability in the region. The discussion took place on the sidelines of a larger gathering that brought senior defense and military officials from three nations together in the Turkish city. Turkish diplomatic sources framed the talks as part of ongoing coordination between the two allies amid a complex regional landscape.
A Turkish foreign ministry source told Reuters that the inaugural session of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee included foreign and defense ministers along with chiefs of general staff from Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The source said the agenda focused on international security issues with emphasis on building defense capabilities and improving interoperability among the armed forces of the three countries. Discussions also addressed deepening cooperation in the defense industry including joint production research and development projects. The committee meeting represented the first operational step since the pact was signed earlier in the month.
Reuters reported that the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed on August 7 in Mecca by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The accord stipulates that an armed attack against one of the three parties would be regarded as an attack against them all in a clause similar to NATO’s Article 5 provision. It emerged from shared concerns over the ongoing Iran war and associated regional conflicts that have included Iranian missile strikes on Gulf oil facilities according to the news agency.
Daily Sabah reported that the Saudi delegation to the Istanbul meeting featured Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Chief of General Staff Gen. Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili alongside Prince Faisal bin Farhan. On the Turkish side Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was joined by National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu while Pakistan was represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir. The breadth of the delegations underscored the strategic weight assigned to the new alliance by all three capitals.
Turkish sources told multiple outlets that the pact remains open to expansion with other countries particularly Muslim-majority states potentially joining in the future. The agreement does not aim to replace existing alliances such as NATO a point Turkish officials have repeatedly emphasized in briefings. Al-Monitor noted that the gathering builds upon previous bilateral coordination between Saudi Arabia and Türkiye that has expanded in recent years to cover both security and economic domains.
Official Turkish data cited by Al-Monitor showed that bilateral trade between Saudi Arabia and Türkiye reached $8.5 billion by the end of 2025. Defense ties have deepened through Saudi procurement of Turkish drones from Baykar and agreements on joint production of additional systems including utility helicopters. The latest defense committee meeting reflects a continued push to align policies on regional challenges that affect the security of all three pact members.
