Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has announced that senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan will gather in Istanbul for the first meeting under the framework of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.
The talks are expected to focus on international security developments and ways to strengthen defence and strategic cooperation among the three countries.
According to Turkish officials, the Istanbul meeting is expected to bring together the foreign and defence ministers of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan, along with the chiefs of their respective armed forces.
Ankara said the three countries would work towards establishing mechanisms to coordinate defence cooperation, including joint military exercises and collaboration in the defence industry.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has described the agreement as technically comparable to the principle of collective defence outlined in NATO’s Article Five, which treats an attack on one member as a matter of collective security.
Pakistan, however, has stressed that the agreement is defensive in nature and is not directed against any particular country.
The upcoming Istanbul meeting is expected to provide the first major opportunity for the three countries to discuss the practical implementation of the Mecca defence framework and explore mechanisms for deeper military coordination.
The development comes at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty and heightened security concerns across the Middle East and wider region. Analysts are likely to closely watch the outcome of the meeting, particularly for indications of how Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan intend to translate their defence agreement into concrete military and strategic cooperation.
