Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pose after signing a joint defence agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on August 7, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will group senior Ministers, hold joint exercises and deepen defence industry cooperation under a military pact signed between the regional powers last week, Turkiye’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday.
The three Sunni Muslim U.S. allies, alarmed by a regional conflagration that has brought Iranian missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters, signed the “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” on August 7.
They said the accord stipulates that an armed attack against any member would be regarded as an attack on all, similar to NATO’s Article 5 collective defence clause.
The Ministry added that joint military exercises involving land, naval, and air forces, as well as air defence and unmanned systems were planned, in addition to deeper defence industry cooperation.
Published – August 13, 2026 10:00 pm IST
