Mecca Joint Defense Agreement meeting between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye

A meeting was held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on Friday, with the participation of defense force commanders and chiefs of staff of the countries party to the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye were represented at the meeting.

The Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia stated that the common determination was emphasized at the meeting to immediately begin to transform the obligations in the agreement into effective military cooperation.

According to the ministry's statement, the participants reiterated their determination for collective defense. The statement stated that this attitude reflects the will of the three countries to defend the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Saudi Arabia.

The chiefs of staff also evaluated the security situation and threats facing Saudi Arabia. Participants strongly condemned the attacks targeting the city of Mecca and the country's civil and economic infrastructure.

At the meeting, the preparedness and professionalism of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces in ensuring the security of citizens and those living in the country were appreciated.

Improving cooperation between the armed forces of the three countries; Improving intelligence sharing, military coordination and integration of capabilities were discussed. The statement noted that these steps aim to strengthen deterrence and collective defense.

Participants also drew attention to the deep-rooted relations and mutual trust between the peoples and armed forces of the three countries.

'100th' held in New York. In the 'Türkiye-US Relations at the Entering of the Year' panel, it was asked whether the attacks of the Houthis in Yemen against Saudi Arabia were the first test of the Mecca Agreement.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan turned to former US Ambassador to Ankara James Jeffrey in the hall and asked him when he started his career in the army. When Jeffrey answered that it was about 50 years ago, Fidan asked how many times he had witnessed the activation of NATO's Article 5; 'Only once' was the response from the hall.

Fidan then reminded that NATO's Article 5 was invoked once after the September 11 attacks and argued that it was not fair to declare the newly established Mecca Alliance unsuccessful over the ten-year crisis in Yemen.