Turkey-Pakistan-Saudi Defence Pact Could Expand to Muslim World, Iran: Turkish Speaker

Web Desk

ANKARA: The trilateral defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan could eventually be broadened to include other Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus said on Friday.

Kurtulmus said the agreement, signed in August, is expected to be presented to Türkiye’s parliament for ratification after lawmakers return from their recess in October. He stressed that the pact was not directed against any particular country and could ultimately evolve into a wider regional security arrangement.

The regional powers signed the “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement” in August, weeks before Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks on Saudi Arabia in response to the broader conflict involving Iran. The agreement, which resembles NATO’s Article 5 principle, provides that an attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all. Since its signing, officials from the three countries have held meetings to determine the framework of the agreement and assess Saudi Arabia’s security requirements.

“For international agreements to come into effect, parliamentary approval is needed. The meetings held as part of the agreement at the moment are preparatory meetings,” Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus told reporters in Ankara.

He said he expected the agreement to be placed before parliament once lawmakers return from their recess in October. Responding to a question about whether the agreement was intended to counter Iran, Kurtulmus reiterated Türkiye’s position that the pact was not directed at any particular country. He said its main purpose was to strengthen the security of countries in the region amid ongoing conflicts and what he described as Israel’s “hostile policies.”

“We never see the Makkah Agreement as a pact against Iran, it must not be that way. In fact, we hope the Makkah Agreement can turn into a broader agreement for the Muslim world. Iran can join this agreement too, we hope it will become much stronger with the participation of other regional countries,” he said.

Türkiye has previously indicated that it could assist Saudi Arabia in meeting its defence requirements, particularly in technical areas. However, officials have said that any assistance at the current stage would primarily be provided on a bilateral basis and within the framework of the two countries’ existing cooperation, as the trilateral agreement is still awaiting ratification. The military chiefs of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are also expected to meet to discuss possible measures to support Riyadh amid the ongoing security situation.