Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have formalised their new defensive alliance at the grouping’s first high-level meeting held Monday in Istanbul.
Officials and military commanders from the three countries met at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace for the flagship meeting of a Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.
The Mecca agreement was signed on 7 August by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The landmark defence pact stipulates that an attack on any one of the three countries would be regarded as an attack against all.
Türkiye was represented at Monday’s meeting in Istanbul by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu.
Senior Pakistani and Saudi officials also attended the closed-door meeting.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Fidan announced that the bloc would officially be known as the Mecca Defence Alliance, saying work had already begun to establish its institutional structure.
The alliance’s secretariat will be based in Saudi capital Riyadh, while its first secretary-general will be from Pakistan, Fidan said.
Fidan reiterated the “defensive” nature of the pact, which, he stressed, was not aimed at any particular countries or groups.
The alliance, he said, was committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of regional states and adhering to the principle of non-interference.
Fidan also said the alliance had been established with the aim of expanding beyond its three founding members, noting that a “roadmap” was being drawn up setting conditions for other countries to join.
According to Ankara’s top diplomat, the new bloc is meant to “complement” - rather than replace - Türkiye’s existing international security commitments, including its obligations as a core NATO member.
Monday’s discussions also reportedly covered means of enhancing joint defence capabilities, military interoperability and defence-industrial cooperation.
Fidan concluded by saying that the Mecca agreement was aimed at creating a new “security architecture,” adding that closer coordination between its members would serve to foster stability and reduce tensions across the region.
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