Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday, declaring that an armed attack on any one of them would be treated as an attack on all three.

The pact was announced at a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The joint statement named it the “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” and described it as intended to strengthen collective deterrence and regional stability, Ada Derana reported, citing Reuters.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said an attack on any of the three states “shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” according to the Daily Mirror, which carried the BBC’s report.

Driven by the war with Iran

The three governments have been moving to deepen security ties since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran and its allies have since struck targets in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states and disrupted energy shipments, closing most traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a route carrying roughly a fifth of global energy supplies.

Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia last month and targeted Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. Riyadh responded with strikes on Houthi positions and by forming a naval coalition to protect shipping.

A Turkish official described the agreement as defensive, not aimed at any particular country, and open to other states in the region. Reuters reported that it followed close to a year of negotiations.

What each brings

Turkey fields NATO’s second-largest military, Saudi Arabia is among the world’s largest oil exporters and hosts Islam’s holiest sites, and Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority state. Analysts cited by Reuters said the accord is unlikely to extend to nuclear weapons, since Pakistan’s deterrent is oriented towards India.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan announced a bilateral defence pact last year, and Pakistan has provided training and technical assistance to Saudi forces for decades. Riyadh agreed in 2023 to buy Turkish drones in what Ankara called its largest defence export contract.

Sources: Ada Derana, Daily Mirror, Hiru News.