The defense ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan meet in Riyadh to enhance military cooperation under the Mecca Agreement

The Saudi Ministry of Defense announced, on Friday, that the Chief of the Defense Forces and the Chiefs of the General Staff of the countries party to the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan) held a meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in which they discussed “ways forward in developing intelligence cooperation and military coordination, in a way that contributes to strengthening deterrence and collective defense.”

The Ministry added, in a statement published on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter): “The Chiefs of Staff reviewed the security situation and threats facing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and expressed their strong denunciation of the attacks that targeted the Holy City of Mecca and the Kingdom’s civil and economic infrastructure,” in reference to the attacks launched by the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi group on the Kingdom.

She added that they "praised the vigilance and professionalism of the Saudi Armed Forces to ensure the safety of citizens and residents and the security of the Kingdom."

The participants also praised the "established relations and mutual trust that bring together the peoples of the three countries and their armed forces," and stressed that their meeting in Riyadh "reflects the strength of the defense partnership between them, and their common determination to immediately begin translating the commitments contained in the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement into effective military cooperation."

They also "strongly affirmed their commitment to collective defense, which embodies the determination of the three countries to defend the security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

Prior to this meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah held a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Ishaq Dar, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, within the framework of the agreement, to “discuss readiness to begin its work and support the Kingdom.”

The meeting was held at the headquarters of the permanent delegation of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in New York, on Thursday, according to what was reported by the Saudi “SPA” news agency.

The meeting discussed "the progress made regarding the establishment of the General Secretariat and the committees and working teams emanating from the agreement, in addition to preparations to begin their work."

It is noteworthy that on August 7, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif signed the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement.”

According to a joint statement by the three countries, the agreement “aims to strengthen joint deterrence against any attack, and stipulates that “any armed attack on any of the three countries is an attack on everyone.”