Let's start our article today with some behind-the-scenes information from the middle of the BOOK...
Our country, which is famous for supporting its friends in bad times, contributes to the protection of 4 critical natural gas and electricity facilities of its "ally" Saudi Arabia, with its low and medium altitude air defense systems, with the Mecca Defense Alliance Agreement!
This is partly why it is said that "it is enough for Türkiye to wave its flag" in resolving the crises arising in its region...
In the escalating tension between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, numerous claims have been made regarding the road map that Ankara will draw with Riyadh. These allegations reached their peak with the attacks of the Houthis in Yemen targeting the holy sites in Mecca and Medina, as well as oil pipelines and civilian infrastructure.
It is also normal that every security-related development directed towards Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is associated with the Mecca Defense Alliance, which was signed with the motto of "deterrence".
However, the situation is different than it seems...
First, let's make this important distinction.
The Mecca Defense Alliance has not yet completed its legal processes in three countries and become fully operational with its General Secretariat and sub-commissions. On the other hand, there is defense cooperation between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia within the scope of bilateral agreements.
The military contacts seen on the field today should not be directly blamed on the Mecca Defense Alliance.
Let's open a parenthesis here and share the following information:
It is anticipated that this file will be one of the first issues to be addressed by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, which starts the new legislative year on October 1.
Two countries; It cooperates in critical areas, especially air defense systems, electronic warfare and new generation defense technologies.
Moreover, there are also areas open to development…
For example, progress needs to be made in technical issues such as the integration of Turkish products into the Saudi radar network in order to increase the performance of the systems in terms of air defense capacity.
There is also intense contact between the two countries in UAV/SIHA technologies, in which Türkiye has become a global brand.
Turkish companies maintain contact after sales, including training and maintenance, to avoid any disruptions in the use of the systems of the products they export.
UCAV technologies are no exception to this.
Increasing the educational support provided in this context will also pave the way for Saudi Arabia to use new technologies more effectively.
So how did this happen?
The negotiation process between the emergence of the Mecca Agreement as an idea and its signing took approximately three years.
The sensitivities, perspectives and security priorities of each country were discussed in hours-long meetings. Initiatives that produced successful results and those that did not were discussed in detail.
And finally, on August 7, 2026, signatures were signed at the leadership level. The city of Mecca was chosen as the signature venue to emphasize universal peace.
With the signature signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Mecca, the agreement became one of the most important agenda items of diplomacy.
The goal of the agreement was explained as follows:
"Strengthening the security of Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia through joint deterrence and defense."
Immediately afterwards, the "Strategic Political and Defense Committee" made a rapid entry into journalistic terminology.
This committee consists of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Chiefs of General Staff to direct the activities within the scope of the Mecca Agreement.
The first meeting of the committee was held in Istanbul on 31 August 2026, hosted by Türkiye.
In this meeting, founding decisions were taken and technical studies for the institutionalization of the alliance were evaluated.
It was decided that the Secretariat of the Alliance would be established in Riyadh as soon as possible.
Retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood from Pakistan was appointed as the first Secretary General. Mahmood is a name that stands out with his success in the fight against terrorism in the Pakistani army and also has experience in the field of intelligence.
Foreign Ministers of the three countries met in New York on 24 September 2026 on the margins of the High-Level Week of the 81st General Assembly of the United Nations.
The next day, the Chiefs of Staff of the three countries met in Riyadh.
Finally, on October 5, the Strategic Political and Defense Committee met again in Riyadh.
Why the chronological order?
The discipline of international relations is full of agreements that have been named but have not been filled and have not yielded concrete results.
The Mecca Defense Alliance, on the other hand, has the potential to stay out of this picture and even expand with new members, thanks to its emergence at a strategic moment, the political will of the three countries and the ongoing institutionalization process.
More importantly, it is very likely to be one of the exemplary alliances of the new world order.
More than 6 countries have already declared their will to be part of this agreement.
Why?
Because; In a period when the security architecture is being reshaped, countries are no longer looking only at their defense systems, but also at the capacity to use those systems, at partners who can act together, and at the political will they can demonstrate when necessary.
Of course, the globally accepted "effective", "deterrent" and "respectable" role of the Turkish Armed Forces, NATO's second largest army, contributes greatly to this perception.
As we said at the beginning of the article…
In a moment of crisis, the sentence "If the Turkish flag flies here, the problem will be solved", based on references from the past, has been ringing in our ears more and more lately.
Nowadays, where deterrence is not measured only by the technical capacity of weapon systems, where a flag flies is also a message in itself.
And this is exactly the message Türkiye has been giving recently through its defense diplomacy:
We are there when necessary.
So let's finish the article by sharing one last hot development from behind the scenes...
Saudi Arabia has started working to allocate a base in its country for the deployment of Turkish soldiers.
Türkiye's response is not clear yet.
Of course, Ankara will take the issue very seriously when making its decisions, as it always does, and will calculate global and regional dynamics on the axis of its national interests. He will take the right steps that will help calm the conflicts, not escalate them.
It would not be a surprise that the scope of support to be provided will range from swarm drone technology to more effective use of warplanes in the Saudi inventory and even operation planning.
In other words, a new one has been added to the titles weighed on the sensitive scale.
