Riyadh hosts the second meeting of the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” countries

On Monday, the Saudi capital, Riyadh, will host the second meeting of the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” countries, which brings together the countries of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, at the level of the Defense Political Strategic Committee.

It is expected that the meeting will witness the participation of the defense and foreign ministers and the chiefs of staff of the armies of the three countries in the agreement. The official Turkish Anadolu Agency quoted sources in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs that during the meeting the Turkish side is scheduled to present its vision regarding the course of institutionalizing the alliance and the next steps, and to provide an assessment of the threats facing peace and stability in the Middle East, and stress the importance of the progress achieved in the alliance’s work within a short period, as it is an important factor towards achieving permanent stability in the region, in addition to expressing a position Ankara supports Riyadh in the face of Houthi attacks.

On August 31, Istanbul hosted the first meeting of the political and defense strategic committee emanating from the “Mecca Agreement,” with the participation of the foreign and defense ministers and the chiefs of staff of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan.

During the meeting, the three countries reaffirmed their determination to work together within the framework of the “Mecca Agreement” to achieve sustainable peace and stability in their region, and to continue supporting efforts aimed at reducing escalation and restraint, in a way that encourages a peaceful solution to crises, based on their keenness to carry out their regional responsibilities.

The political analyst specializing in international affairs, Ahmed Al-Ibrahim, believes that the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” provides a regional umbrella for common defense between the three countries, and he considered that the meeting of the chiefs of staff of these countries in Riyadh confirmed their intention to immediately begin translating the commitments contained in the “Mecca Agreement” into effective military cooperation. He added that targeting Saudi Arabia is directly related to the basic principle of the agreement, which is that “any attack on one of the parties to the agreement is an attack on all of its countries,” in addition to affecting energy security. And trade for these three countries, the region and the region.

Al-Ibrahim pointed out that the second meeting scheduled to be held in Riyadh of the Political and Strategic Defense Committee reflects a real, tangible and unprecedented seriousness after years of absence of international and regional responsibility towards the security of Yemen and Bab al-Mandab, which “a few countries, led by Saudi Arabia, responded to,” pointing out that its holding after the first meeting in Istanbul during a period not exceeding two weeks clearly reveals the transition of coordination between these countries to the stage of joint action.

As for Faisal Al-Shammari, the political analyst, he expects that the meeting, in light of the new developments, especially the announcement by the head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, of the start of military operations to liberate the remainder of Yemeni lands, will constitute a real basis for the next stage, especially in light of the expected escalation, and in light of the seriousness shown by the meetings of the three countries during the past periods, and their continued work to institutionalize the alliance, and the immediate start of work on its implementation.