Saudi ⁠Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye sign defence deal amid regional turmoil - Al Jazeera

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye signed the "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement" on Friday, 7 August 2026, deepening security cooperation amid rising military tensions across the Middle East.
The pact stipulates that an attack on any one of the three countries will be treated as an attack on all, a measure Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said is intended to strengthen collective deterrence.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the deal in Mecca, with Sharif accompanied by army chief Asim Munir after performing the Umrah pilgrimage.
The agreement follows Saudi Arabia being struck repeatedly by Iran, its Houthi allies in Yemen, and Shia armed groups in Iraq since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, threatening Saudi oil exports and development plans.
The conflict has raised doubts about the reliability of Saudi Arabia's longstanding US security umbrella, while Turkiye and Pakistan, though largely spared direct attacks, are keen to calm threats to their security and economies.
Built on nearly a year of negotiations and decades of bilateral ties, the deal reflects existing cooperation such as Pakistani training for Saudi forces and Riyadh's 2023 agreement to buy Turkish drones, described by Ankara as its largest defence export contract.