MECCA DEFENSE PACT MOVES FORWARD AS TURKEY, SAUDI ARABIA AND PAKISTAN MEET IN RIYADH

Three Regional Powers Are Building a New Collective Defense Framework as War in Yemen and Wider Middle East Tensions Test the Alliance

Location: Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCountries: Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and PakistanAgreement: Makkah Agreement for Joint DefenceMeeting: Strategic Political and Defence CommitteeDate: October 5, 2026Reporting: Imperial News Network

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Senior political and military leaders from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are meeting in Riyadh Monday as the three countries move to turn their new Makkah Agreement for Joint Defence from a diplomatic agreement into a functioning regional security alliance.

The meeting brings together the foreign ministers, defense ministers and senior military commanders of all three countries at a moment of rapidly changing security conditions across the Middle East.

Pakistan's delegation includes Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, the country's chief of defense forces and army chief. Türkiye is represented by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu. Reuters

The gathering is formally a meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, the body established to oversee the three-country defense arrangement.

Its agenda extends beyond routine military cooperation.

Officials are expected to examine the rapidly changing regional security environment, the continuing institutionalization of the alliance and the escalating conflict involving Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi movement. Reuters

The timing makes the meeting particularly significant.

The three governments created a new defense structure only months ago.

It is already facing its first serious test.

THE MAKKAH AGREEMENT

A New Defense Alliance Takes Shape

Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan established the new framework earlier this year as the three powers sought greater coordination over regional security.

By August, their cooperation had advanced to the point that foreign ministers, defense ministers and military chiefs from all three countries gathered in Istanbul under the Strategic Political and Defence Committee.

Their August 31 joint statement went considerably beyond promises of diplomatic consultation.

The three governments committed themselves to strengthening collective deterrence and defense, expanding cooperation between their armed forces and increasing collaboration in defense industries.

They also agreed to establish a permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia.

Under that arrangement, the first secretary-general will come from Pakistan and serve for three years. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan

The countries also agreed to pursue joint technology development and production while increasing cohesion among their armed forces. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan

Those commitments are important because they suggest the Makkah framework is intended to become more than a series of occasional meetings.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye are attempting to institutionalize the alliance.

THREE VERY DIFFERENT POWERS

What Each Country Brings to the Pact

The three members give the alliance an unusual strategic composition.

Saudi Arabia brings enormous financial resources, energy influence and a central position in both the Arab world and the Islamic world.

Türkiye possesses one of the region's largest and most experienced armed forces, a significant domestic defense industry and a geographic position connecting Europe, the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Pakistan brings one of the world's largest militaries, extensive military experience and a long-standing security relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Together, they represent three major centers of power stretching from the eastern Mediterranean through the Arabian Peninsula to South Asia.

The agreement therefore has implications extending well beyond relations among the three governments.

If institutionalized successfully, the Makkah pact could become a significant new security structure connecting the Middle East and South Asia.

YEMEN PUTS THE ALLIANCE TO THE TEST

Houthi Attacks Have Changed the Urgency of the Talks

The Riyadh meeting comes amid renewed warfare in Yemen and growing concern over Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia.

Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have launched a major offensive against the Iran-aligned Houthis, with fighting concentrated in strategically important areas near the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The waterway is one of the world's critical maritime chokepoints, connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean.

The conflict therefore carries consequences far beyond Yemen.

Recent developments have pushed the Makkah pact toward questions its members eventually would have faced regardless:

What does collective defense mean in practice?

And how far are its members prepared to go when one member faces attack?

Pakistan has already adopted unusually strong language.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif recently said his country would defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks by whatever means were required, while stopping short of confirming direct Pakistani participation in military operations. AP News

The military chiefs of the three countries also met in Riyadh on September 25 and discussed stronger intelligence cooperation, military coordination and integration of capabilities. Saudi Gazette

Today's meeting moves those discussions to the alliance's full strategic political and defense leadership.

AN ALLIANCE STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Riyadh Is About More Than the Immediate Crisis

The fighting in Yemen may dominate the immediate agenda, but the larger issue is the future shape of the alliance itself.

The Makkah pact is still young.

Its permanent bureaucracy is being developed.

Military coordination mechanisms are being established.

Defense-industrial cooperation is being discussed.

The three governments are determining how collective deterrence will work.

And they are deciding how a structure connecting three powerful but politically distinct states will function during an actual regional crisis.

The August joint statement emphasized both collective defense and de-escalation, saying the countries intended to encourage peaceful solutions to regional crises while simultaneously making their collective deterrence credible. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan

That balance could prove difficult.

Building a military alliance capable of deterring attacks without becoming automatically drawn into every regional confrontation will require political coordination as much as military strength.

COULD THE ALLIANCE GROW?

Other Countries Are Watching

The three-member structure may not remain limited to three countries.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said last week that at least six countries had expressed interest in joining the pact, according to Anadolu Agency. Anadolu Agency

That claim does not mean expansion is imminent.

But it raises a much larger question about what Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are constructing.

If the pact remains trilateral, it could develop into a powerful but relatively compact strategic partnership.

If additional states eventually join, it could evolve into a much broader regional security organization.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has previously said the framework could remain open to participation by other regional countries. Al Jazeera

That possibility makes the institutional decisions being made now particularly important.

The rules established by the original three members could eventually become the foundation for something considerably larger.

A CHANGING REGIONAL ORDER

Countries Seek New Security Arrangements

The Makkah pact is also emerging during a broader period of geopolitical realignment.

Regional governments are reassessing old relationships while developing new ones.

Wars involving Iran, Yemen and other regional actors have increased pressure on existing security structures.

Saudi Arabia has powerful relationships with Western governments but is simultaneously developing deeper relationships with major regional and Asian powers.

Türkiye has pursued an increasingly independent foreign and defense policy.

Pakistan has long maintained close military ties with Saudi Arabia while balancing relationships across the Middle East and Asia.

The new alliance brings those three strategic calculations together.

That does not mean the countries will agree on every regional issue.

They have different interests, different relationships and different geographic priorities.

The test will be whether those differences can coexist inside a permanent defense structure.

FROM AGREEMENT TO INSTITUTION

The most important story in Riyadh may therefore not be a dramatic announcement.

It is the continuing transformation of the Makkah Agreement into an institution.

There is now a strategic committee.

A permanent secretariat is being established.

Foreign ministers are meeting.

Defense ministers are meeting.

Military chiefs are meeting.

Joint defense production and technology development are on the agenda.

Collective deterrence has become official policy.

And a major regional conflict is forcing the members to confront what those commitments mean in practice. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pakistan

Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan have already signed the agreement.

The question now is whether they can build an alliance around it.

The Riyadh meeting suggests that process is accelerating.

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