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The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on August 30 that the inaugural session of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established by the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement will convene in Istanbul the following day with the foreign and defence ministers along with the chiefs of general staff from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan in attendance. According to the ministry statement, the high-level gathering aims to provide strategic direction for implementing the pact signed earlier this month in Makkah by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The committee meeting will focus on coordinating joint activities among the three nations that have maintained defence ties for decades.
A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry identified the participants as including Hakan Fidan, Türkiye’s foreign minister, Yaşar Güler, its national defence minister, and General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, chief of the Turkish General Staff. Pakistani representatives are expected to include Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, chief of army staff, while Saudi officials will comprise Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, chief of general staff. The ministry said the committee was created specifically to guide cooperation under the newly signed agreement.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed August 7 stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack against all three, according to the joint statement issued by the leaders at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah. Turkish Foreign Ministry sources told Anadolu Agency that Monday’s discussions will address international security developments while exploring ways to strengthen collective defence capabilities and improve interoperability among the Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani armed forces. The pact builds upon existing bilateral defence arrangements, including a 2025 strategic mutual defence understanding between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has described as foundational.
Participants are also set to examine opportunities for expanded defence industry collaboration encompassing joint production, research and development initiatives as well as enhanced counterterrorism coordination, the Turkish Foreign Ministry statement indicated. The meeting will establish a framework for a permanent secretariat and other mechanisms to oversee areas of joint activity identified by the committee, according to the ministry. Officials plan to draft a detailed roadmap outlining steps for advancing trilateral defence cooperation in the months ahead.
The agreement remains open to other countries that respect international law and share its objectives of promoting regional peace and stability through cooperative security arrangements, Turkish officials have repeatedly stated since the August 7 signing. Türkiye, which maintains NATO’s second-largest military by personnel according to alliance data, has emphasised that the pact does not seek to supplant existing alliances but rather complements them. The three nations collectively bring significant military, technological and strategic assets to the framework, as noted in analyses published by regional outlets following the Makkah summit.
Defence cooperation among Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan has deepened in recent years through joint exercises, training programs and technology exchanges that predate the formal pact, according to statements from the Turkish Defence Ministry issued in mid-August. The inaugural committee meeting in Istanbul reflects the central role Türkiye plays in facilitating the new arrangement given its geographic position and industrial base, the ministry assessment found. Implementation of the pact is expected to proceed through regular high-level engagements that sustain momentum established at the Makkah summit.
