Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the joint defence pact signed with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia targets no country and remains open to other nations seeking regional peace, prosperity and stability.
In a post on social media, Erdogan said that the agreement strengthens security cooperation, joint defence projects and counterterrorism efforts based on collective deterrence.
He said that the pact reaffirms the right to self-defence defined under Article 51 of the United Nations (UN) Charter.
“The agreement does not target any country and is open to the participation of all brotherly countries seeking peace, prosperity and stability in our region,” the Turkish president said, adding that Turkiye maintains a stance favouring conflict resolution through diplomacy and international law.
The post came shortly after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in the holy city of Makkah, establishing that an attack against one-member state will be treated as an attack against all.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and President Erdogan signed the document at Al-Safa Palace, according to a joint statement issued by Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) and the Saudi Press Agency.
The statement mentioned that the pact reflects a “shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security and to promoting peace, security, and stability in the region and beyond, in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future”.
“The agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” the statement highlighted.
It noted that the arrangement is “guided by the longstanding historical ties among the three states, based on the enduring bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity that unite them, and building upon their shared strategic interests and longstanding defence cooperation”.
Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif attended the signing alongside defence and foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
