Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a joint defense agreement in Mecca on Friday, with the three countries declaring that an attack on one will constitute an attack on all three.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed what is now called the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement.”
Apart from collective defense and deterrence, the deal is not an effort to establish a new military axis or sectarian bloc, a senior Saudi diplomat said.
“Nor is it linked to any nuclear ambitions or arms race,” Dr. Rayed Krimly, Saudi deputy minister for public diplomacy, said in a post on X.
Krimly said the deal will also allow the three countries to develop further and integrate their respective defense capabilities.
He added that the agreement does not come at the expense of Riyadh’s strong ties with any of its Gulf, Arab or international partners.
“It does not constitute a threat to the security of any country in the region, nor does it represent an escalation of tensions between any two states,” Krimly said.
It also does not supersede any existing bilateral or multilateral agreements between the three countries or between them and other states or international organizations, the Saudi diplomat said.
“Three of the Muslim world’s most influential states are convening at a moment of heightened uncertainty, demonstrating a growing willingness among regional and middle powers to coordinate more closely on security matters,” Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Center, told Reuters.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.