New Delhi: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed a trilateral defence agreement in Makkah on Friday, under which an attack on any one of the three nations will be treated as an attack on all three.
The signing took place at Al-Safa Palace during the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the meeting, held at the invitation of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Officials said the agreement, titled the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, was built on longstanding historical, religious and strategic ties among the three countries.
It seeks to strengthen collective deterrence and broaden defence cooperation between the signatories.
“The Agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all. It further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three States,” the release added.
The three leaders reviewed bilateral and regional matters during the summit, alongside the formal signing. No further details on the operational scope of the joint defence framework have been made public so far.
The pact is likely to draw attention in New Delhi, given Pakistan’s central role in it and Turkey’s continuing defence and diplomatic backing of Islamabad in recent years. India has previously raised concerns over Ankara’s growing military ties with Pakistan.
