Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye are expected to announce a trilateral defence pact as leaders of the three nations meet in Jeddah today, foreign media reports have said.
According to reports, the potential signing has been hinted at as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads to the Kingdom for a one-day working visit to join an ongoing trilateral summit.
His Communications Director Burhanettin Duran conveyed on social media platform that Erdogan will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif.
Reports quoted the Saudi military and government as saying that the defence arrangement had been under negotiation for an extended period before recent developments accelerated the timeline.
“It was under discussion for a long time, but the latest developments in the region expedite it,” reports quoted a source as saying on the condition of anonymity.
Earlier, PM Shehbaz reached Jeddah for his three-day visit. He is accompanied by Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi among others.
Deputy Governor of Makkah Prince Saud bin Mishal bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Environment Engineer Abdulrahman and Ambassador Ahmad Farooq welcomed the delegation at the airport. Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi outlined the bilateral context during a weekly media brief.
“During the visit, the prime minister will meet the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and discussions will focus on consolidating the Pakistan-Saudi bilateral relationship and exchange views on areas of regional and international developments of mutual interests,” Tahir Andrabi stated, noting that the relationship remains “anchored in decades of mutual trust, cooperation and brotherhood”.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have already announced a mutual defence pact in 2025, a move that drew significant attention, given that Pakistan is the Muslim world’s only nuclear-armed state.
However, the details of the reported trilateral agreement have not yet been disclosed, with no official clarity on its nature and if it will pertain to mutual defence or defence cooperation.
