Turkiye moves to ratify Mecca defence pact with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

Trilateral deal between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan lays out provisions for joint defence.

Leaders and representatives of member countries before the first committee meeting of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul, Turkiye, on August 31, 2026 [Murad Sezer/Reuters]

The trilateral defence pact between Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, also known as the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, has been submitted to the Turkish parliament for ratification.

The pact, signed on August 7, contains 16 articles, according to the document submitted to the Turkish parliament, seen by the Reuters news agency.

It aims to create a joint defence architecture in the region, in the case of an armed attack on any member, and lays out provisions in each article accordingly.

In Article 1 of the accord, for example, the signatories shall use “all necessary means” to eliminate threats to one another’s territorial integrity.

Once the first article is invoked, in case of an attack on any member state, the document lays out provisions for what follows next, as outlined in Article 2 of the draft seen by Reuters.

“In the event one of the parties is subjected to an armed attack or military aggression by another country or group of countries, the parties shall immediately provide assistance to the party under attack, utilising the full range ‌of mutual assistance measures available to them,” says Article 2.

This point is similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO’s founding document, which treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all.

Article 2 goes on to say that each signatory – Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye – “will decide on the scope and nature of the support to be provided following an objective assessment of the assistance required”, adding that the three countries will cooperate within their available resources, including military capabilities and resources.

Earlier this month, Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed to activate “deterrence measures” under the mutual defence pact and rapidly deploy forces to the Gulf kingdom to counter attacks by Yemen’s Houthis – an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God).

Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the draft agreement, submitted to the Turkish parliament, also lay out details on defence industry cooperation, intelligence sharing, logistical support and joint training and the fight against “all means of terrorism”, including at the operational level.

Other provisions talk about joint research, development and innovation projects in the field of advanced technology and ensuring military readiness.

There is also mention of setting up a defence committee, which will include foreign and defence ministers from all three signatory states.

And there is a mechanism for allowing other states to join the agreement, with aspirants needing the approval of all three founding members.

The agreement will last 10 years, after which any country can withdraw according to the draft submitted to the Turkish parliament.

Next steps for ratification

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar speaking on the submitted pact said the process of ratification is going to take “quite some time”, despite the ruling coalition needing a simple majority.

“The various political parties that are represented in the Turkish parliament are going to discuss the provisions in the pact, and we could witness heated debates because the opposition has its own objectives,” he said.

Serdar said even if the deal is ratified, it would not lead to a deployment of Turkish troops, a move which will require other legislative processes.

Turkiye’s parliamentary speaker will refer the agreement to ⁠the parliament’s foreign affairs commission. The commission could debate the ⁠agreement as early as Friday, according to a source who spoke to Reuters.

Once it is submitted to the commission, the contents and details of the agreement are expected to be made public.

“This strategic partnership developed between our countries aims to strengthen collective deterrence, enhance joint capabilities in the defence sector, and safeguard security and stability in our region,” Burhanettin Duran, the Turkish presidency’s communications director, said on X.

Duran added that the process marked an important milestone towards the “institutionalisation” of strategic cooperation between the three nations.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke of the escalating violence between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis.

“As I often say, we are surrounded by a ring of fire. That is exactly the situation we face,” Erdogan said, while referring to the Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport.

In recent weeks, the Houthis have carried out missile and drone attacks against the kingdom, including oil facilities and Riyadh’s main airport, while the Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government has launched air attacks on Houthi positions.

沙特阿拉伯、土耳其和巴基斯坦之间的三方协议规定了联合防御的条款。

2026年8月31日，在土耳其伊斯坦布尔举行的《麦加联合防御协定》第一次委员会会议前，成员国领导人和代表合影。[Murad Sezer/路透社]

土耳其、巴基斯坦和沙特阿拉伯之间的三边防御条约，又称《麦加联合防御协议》，已提交土耳其议会批准。

据路透社报道，提交给土耳其议会的文件显示，该协议于8月7日签署，包含16条条款。

它旨在为该地区建立联合防御体系，以应对任何成员国遭受武装攻击的情况，并在每条条款中据此制定了相关规定。

例如，该协议第 1 条规定，签署国应采取“一切必要手段”消除对彼此领土完整的威胁。

一旦援引第一条，在任何成员国遭受攻击的情况下，该文件规定了接下来的措施，正如路透社看到的草案第二条所述。

“如果一方遭受另一国或国家集团的武装攻击或军事侵略，各方应立即向受攻击方提供援助，利用各方可采取的全部互助措施，”第二条规定。

这一点与北约创始文件《北大西洋公约》第五条类似，该条规定对一个成员国的武装攻击将被视为对所有成员国的攻击。

第二条继续指出，每个签署国——沙特阿拉伯、巴基斯坦和土耳其——“将在对所需援助进行客观评估后，决定提供支持的范围和性质”，并补充说，这三个国家将在其现有资源范围内合作，包括军事能力和资源。

本月初，土耳其、巴基斯坦和沙特阿拉伯同意根据共同防御条约启动“威慑措施”，并迅速向海湾王国部署部队，以应对也门胡塞武装（又称安萨尔真主，阿拉伯语意为“真主的支持者”）的袭击。

提交给土耳其议会的协议草案第 3、4、5 和 6 条还详细规定了国防工业合作、情报共享、后勤支持和联合训练以及打击“一切恐怖主义手段”（包括在作战层面）的措施。

其他条款涉及先进技术领域的联合研究、开发和创新项目以及确保军事战备。

文件中还提到要成立一个国防委员会，该委员会将包括三个签署国的外交部长和国防部长。

此外，还有一种机制允许其他国家加入该协议，但申请加入的国家需要得到所有三个创始成员国的批准。

该协议有效期为10年，之后任何国家都可以根据提交给土耳其议会的草案退出该协议。

批准的下一步步骤

半岛电视台记者雷苏尔·塞尔达尔在谈到提交的协议时表示，尽管执政联盟只需要简单多数即可批准，但批准过程仍需“相当长的时间”。

他说：“土耳其议会中的各个政党将讨论该协议的条款，我们可能会看到激烈的辩论，因为反对派有自己的目标。”

塞尔达尔表示，即使该协议获得批准，也不会导致土耳其军队部署，这一举动还需要其他立法程序。

据路透社援引消息人士的话报道，土耳其议会议长将把该协议提交议会外交事务委员会。该委员会最早可能在周五就该协议进行辩论。

一旦提交给委员会，协议的内容和细节预计将会公开。

土耳其总统府通讯主任布尔哈内丁·杜兰在X上表示：“我们两国之间建立的这一战略伙伴关系旨在加强集体威慑，提升国防领域的联合能力，维护我们地区的安全与稳定。”

杜兰补充说，这一进程标志着三国战略合作“制度化”迈出了重要一步。

周一，土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安谈到了沙特阿拉伯和也门胡塞武装之间不断升级的暴力冲突。

埃尔多安在谈到胡塞武装对利雅得机场的袭击时说：“正如我常说的，我们被一圈火圈包围着。这正是我们面临的形势。”

最近几周，胡塞武装对沙特阿拉伯王国发动了导弹和无人机袭击，目标包括石油设施和利雅得的主要机场；与此同时，支持也门政府的沙特领导的联军对胡塞武装阵地发动了空袭。