Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye will hold the first meeting of a new Strategic Political and Defence Committee in Istanbul on Monday, with senior foreign and defence officials expected to discuss regional security and closer military cooperation.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Sunday that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir will represent Islamabad at the meeting.
The committee was established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on August 7.
The accord provides for collective deterrence and states that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be treated as an attack against all three.
The arrangement is broadly comparable to Nato’s Article 5, which commits members to collective defence when one member comes under armed attack.
The Foreign Office said the Istanbul meeting would also be attended by the foreign and defence ministers and chiefs of general staff of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia.
Discussions are expected to include strengthening defence capabilities, improving interoperability and expanding defence-industry cooperation through joint production and development.
The agreement was signed in Makkah in the presence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
The meeting comes amid heightened regional tensions following the US-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28 and has affected maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Turkiye has said the defence agreement could eventually be expanded, with Egypt identified as a potential participant, while stressing that it is not intended to replace existing alliances.
