Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan sign mutual defense pact
Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan have signed a trilateral defense agreement under which an armed attack on one of the three countries will be considered an attack on all.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement on August 7 at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
According to a joint statement, the agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence and expand defense cooperation among the three countries, the BBC’s Russian Service reported.
The pact creates one of the most significant new security arrangements in the Muslim world, bringing together NATO member Türkiye, nuclear-armed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, one of the Middle East’s most influential economic and political powers.
How the agreement will work
The mutual-defense provision means that an armed attack against any one of the three signatories would be regarded as an attack against all three.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said a country facing aggression would have to formally request assistance. Depending on the nature and scale of the threat, support could range from intelligence sharing and logistical assistance to the deployment of military units.
The agreement also provides for regular meetings of the three countries’ foreign and defense ministers and military chiefs. A permanent secretariat is expected to be established in Saudi Arabia.
According to Al-Jazeera, both Türkiye and Pakistan have stressed that the agreement is defensive and is not directed against Iran or any other country.
Top Turkish diplomat Fidan reportedly said on Saturday that the pact does not designate any state as a common adversary, while Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described it as «purely defensive in nature» and said its collective-defense provision was consistent with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which recognizes the right to individual and collective self-defense.
The three countries have also left the door open for other states to join the arrangement. Fidan said several countries had expressed interest and suggested that Egypt could become a participant at a later stage.
Why the agreement emerged now
The pact comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran and growing uncertainty across the Middle East, prompting regional powers to reassess their security arrangements and strengthen cooperation with one another.
For Saudi Arabia, the agreement also represents another step toward broadening its network of defense partnerships. Riyadh already has longstanding military ties with Pakistan and has rapidly expanded defense cooperation with Türkiye in recent years.
In September 2025, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a separate Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement containing a similar provision: aggression against either country would be regarded as aggression against both. The new trilateral pact builds on that arrangement rather than replacing it.
Saudi-Turkish defense ties have also grown significantly. In 2023, Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia for the export of Bayraktar Akıncı unmanned combat aircraft, described at the time as the largest defense and aviation export contract in Türkiye’s history.
Three major military powers
The agreement brings together countries with very different but complementary military capabilities.
Türkiye has NATO’s second-largest army and has developed a substantial domestic defense industry, particularly in drones, missiles, armored vehicles and other military technologies. Pakistan, meanwhile, is the only Muslim-majority country with nuclear weapons and has decades of military cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia contributes considerable economic resources, regional influence and longstanding security relationships with both Western and Muslim-majority countries.
Military cooperation among the three states predates the new pact. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained close defense ties for decades, while Türkiye and Pakistan have expanded joint military training and defense-industrial cooperation in recent years.
Despite its collective-defense clause, analysts caution against describing the new arrangement as a Muslim equivalent of NATO. The agreement strengthens deterrence and establishes a framework for coordinated assistance, but the precise response to any future attack would depend on the circumstances and on a formal request for support from the country concerned.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement on August 7 at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
According to a joint statement, the agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence and expand defense cooperation among the three countries, the BBC’s Russian Service reported.
The pact creates one of the most significant new security arrangements in the Muslim world, bringing together NATO member Türkiye, nuclear-armed Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, one of the Middle East’s most influential economic and political powers.
How the agreement will work
The mutual-defense provision means that an armed attack against any one of the three signatories would be regarded as an attack against all three.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said a country facing aggression would have to formally request assistance. Depending on the nature and scale of the threat, support could range from intelligence sharing and logistical assistance to the deployment of military units.
The agreement also provides for regular meetings of the three countries’ foreign and defense ministers and military chiefs. A permanent secretariat is expected to be established in Saudi Arabia.
According to Al-Jazeera, both Türkiye and Pakistan have stressed that the agreement is defensive and is not directed against Iran or any other country.
Top Turkish diplomat Fidan reportedly said on Saturday that the pact does not designate any state as a common adversary, while Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described it as «purely defensive in nature» and said its collective-defense provision was consistent with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which recognizes the right to individual and collective self-defense.
The three countries have also left the door open for other states to join the arrangement. Fidan said several countries had expressed interest and suggested that Egypt could become a participant at a later stage.
Why the agreement emerged now
The pact comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran and growing uncertainty across the Middle East, prompting regional powers to reassess their security arrangements and strengthen cooperation with one another.
For Saudi Arabia, the agreement also represents another step toward broadening its network of defense partnerships. Riyadh already has longstanding military ties with Pakistan and has rapidly expanded defense cooperation with Türkiye in recent years.
In September 2025, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a separate Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement containing a similar provision: aggression against either country would be regarded as aggression against both. The new trilateral pact builds on that arrangement rather than replacing it.
Saudi-Turkish defense ties have also grown significantly. In 2023, Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia for the export of Bayraktar Akıncı unmanned combat aircraft, described at the time as the largest defense and aviation export contract in Türkiye’s history.
Three major military powers
The agreement brings together countries with very different but complementary military capabilities.
Türkiye has NATO’s second-largest army and has developed a substantial domestic defense industry, particularly in drones, missiles, armored vehicles and other military technologies. Pakistan, meanwhile, is the only Muslim-majority country with nuclear weapons and has decades of military cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia contributes considerable economic resources, regional influence and longstanding security relationships with both Western and Muslim-majority countries.
Military cooperation among the three states predates the new pact. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained close defense ties for decades, while Türkiye and Pakistan have expanded joint military training and defense-industrial cooperation in recent years.
Despite its collective-defense clause, analysts caution against describing the new arrangement as a Muslim equivalent of NATO. The agreement strengthens deterrence and establishes a framework for coordinated assistance, but the precise response to any future attack would depend on the circumstances and on a formal request for support from the country concerned.
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