Summit of Turkish, Pakistani, and Saudi Officials in Istanbul

econews. The first session of the Makkah Coalition’s Joint Committee is set to be held tomorrow in Istanbul, with the participation of the Ministers of Defense, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and senior military commanders from the three nations.

A source from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the news to Reuters, stating that the foreign and defense ministers, as well as the chiefs of staff of the armed forces of all three countries, will be in attendance.

Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan signed the joint defense agreement in Makkah on August 7th. Under this accord, the three nations have committed to strengthening their defense and security cooperation and to establishing mechanisms to enhance collective deterrence against shared threats.

One of the most significant clauses of this agreement stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three countries shall be considered an attack against all of them—a provision that, in form, bears a strong resemblance to the principle of collective defense found in Article 5 of the NATO treaty, although there remain substantive differences between the NATO alliance and the Makkah Coalition.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that matters concerning international security will be on the agenda for the Istanbul meeting.

Reuters also reported that the parties are expected to hold discussions on bolstering defense capabilities, increasing coordination between the armed forces of the three nations, and deepening cooperation in the defense industry.

According to the agency, the joint production and development of defense equipment will also be among the key topics addressed during this summit.