Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Establish Secretariat for Makkah Defence Alliance

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have agreed to establish a secretariat in Saudi Arabia to institutionalize the Makkah Defence Alliance. The decision was reached on Monday during the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee held in Istanbul. A secretary general from Pakistan will lead the secretariat for an initial period of three years. The alliance is based on the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed on August 7, which stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three member states will be regarded as an attack on all. This principle of collective defense is similar to Article 5 of NATO. The meeting in Istanbul included foreign and defense ministers as well as top military officials. Participants discussed increasing defense capabilities, integrating armed forces, and cooperating on military industry and technology development. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that the alliance is not directed against any specific country and is open to other regional states that respect sovereignty and territorial integrity, mentioning Egypt as a possible candidate. The alliance brings together Turkey, which has the second largest army in NATO; Pakistan, the only nuclear armed state in the Islamic world; and Saudi Arabia, a leading global oil exporter. The pact emerges amid high regional tensions, including conflict involving Iran and military actions by Israel. While center lean sources focused on the diplomatic statements regarding non aggression and the administrative setup of the secretariat, center left sources emphasized the alliance's potential to shift the regional balance of power and its role as a response to instability in the Middle East.