Srinagar, Aug 07: Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are set to sign a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday, deepening security cooperation among the three countries as tensions continue to escalate across the Middle East, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
According to Reuters, the agreement follows nearly a year of negotiations and comes as Gulf states face heightened security threats following the regional conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
Two regional sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters that the pact is scheduled to be signed on Friday. A Turkish official has also confirmed the signing, although it remains unclear whether the agreement will be publicly announced the same day.
The deal is expected to be formalised during a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Mecca.
Reuters reported that while the agreement further strengthens cooperation among three major Muslim countries that maintain close ties with the United States, the precise commitments under the pact have not been disclosed.
The three nations share growing concerns over regional instability, including Iran’s influence and Israel’s increasingly assertive military posture. The ongoing conflict has also exposed vulnerabilities in Gulf security and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and liquefied natural gas exports.
Reuters noted that Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest military, Saudi Arabia, the region’s leading oil producer and custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, and Pakistan, the world’s only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority country, each bring significant strategic weight to the partnership.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by Army Chief Asim Munir, arrived in Jeddah on Thursday and performed the Umrah pilgrimage before the expected signing ceremony. President Erdoğan travelled to Saudi Arabia on Friday for the meeting.
