Pakistan, Türkiye And Saudi Arabia To Hold First Strategic Defense Committee Meeting In Istanbul

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir will represent Islamabad at the meeting. The talks will also be attended by the foreign and defense ministers and senior military commanders of Türkiye and Saudi Arabia.

According to Reuters, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said the meeting will focus on international and regional security issues, as well as strengthening defense cooperation among the three countries.

Officials are expected to discuss expanding military coordination, improving interoperability between their armed forces and increasing cooperation in the defense industry, including the joint production and development of military equipment and technology.

The committee was established under the Mecca Joint Defense Pact, signed on August 7, which aims to deepen strategic, political and military cooperation among Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia amid growing instability in the Middle East.

Under the agreement, an armed attack against any one of the three countries is considered an attack against all three, a collective defense principle that has drawn comparisons with Article 5 of the NATO treaty. However, Turkish officials have emphasized that the pact is not intended to replace NATO or other existing security alliances.

The three countries signed the agreement as regional tensions intensified following the conflict involving Iran and the broader escalation across the Middle East, raising concerns over Gulf security and global energy markets.

Turkish officials have also indicated that the defense framework could be expanded in the future, with Egypt mentioned as one of the potential countries that could join the initiative.

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