Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia will hold the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistna and Turkish Foreign Ministry said in separate statements on Sunday.
The meeting will bring together senior political and military officials from the three countries to discuss matters related to strategic political and defence cooperation under the agreement.
According to the Foreign Office, Pakistan will be represented at the meeting by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
It said the meeting will also be attended by the respective ministers of foreign affairs, ministers of defence, as well as chiefs of general staff of Türkiye, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Türkiye will be represented by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defence Minister Yaşar Güler and Chief of the Turkish General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, the Turkish MFA said.
The FO said Pakistan’s participation in the meeting signifies Pakistan’s historic bonds of friendship with the brotherly countries of Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, as well as its desire for lasting regional peace and stability.
The meeting marks the first formal gathering of the committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed by Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
The development comes as Pakistan’s Army Chief Munir and DPM Dar are in Türkiye for official engagements.
The “Makkah Joint Defence Agreement”, signed on August 7, brought together Muslim US allies concerned by the Iran war and regional conflict that has led to Iranian missile fire on Gulf oil exporters.
It is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three would be regarded as an attack on all, similar to NATO’s Article 5 collective defence clause.
“International security issues will be on the agenda,” Reuters on Sunday reported citing a Turkish foreign ministry source, with discussions expected to cover enhancing defence capabilities, greater interoperability among their armed forces and deepening cooperation in the defence industry, including joint production and development.
The three nations share concerns about the military stances of Israel and Iran, as long-time ally the US struggles to contain regional upheaval that has caused a global energy crisis.
Six months after the US and Israel launched the war against Iran, negotiations are at an impasse and President Donald Trump’s administration has stepped up efforts to punish Iran financially with what it has billed as an “economic D-Day”.
Turkiye, which has NATO’s second-largest military, has said the pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia was open to expansion — with Egypt as a potential candidate — and did not seek to replace existing alliances.
