Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have agreed to institutionalise their cooperation under the Makkah Agreement, with Pakistan set to head the alliance’s secretariat for an initial three-year term, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday.
The decision was taken at the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee of the Makkah Agreement in Istanbul, which brought together the foreign and defence ministers of the three countries along with senior military officials.
Pakistan was represented at the meeting by Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Foreign Minister (FM) Ishaq Dar, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.
According to the FO, a secretariat headed by a secretary general will be established in Saudi Arabia to support the alliance’s work under the agreement. The secretary general will initially be appointed from Pakistan for a period of three years.
Turkiye’s FM Hakan Fidan said that the tripartite agreement between Ankara, Islamabad and Riyadh will be officially known as the “Makkah Defence Alliance”. Fidan made the announcement at a press conference following the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, which Turkiye hosted in Istanbul.
He said that the meeting focused on “concrete steps that are going to be taken for the implementation of the agreement” and that the three sides exchanged views on the matter. “There is a secretariat that has been established in Riyadh, and the first secretary general will be appointed amongst our Pakistani brothers,” he added.
The FO said that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye had agreed to take further steps to institutionalise their cooperation in a way that would strengthen their solidarity and ensure the credibility and effectiveness of their collective deterrence and defence.
The three countries will also work to strengthen the defence capabilities and cohesion of their armed forces through joint activities, defence industry cooperation, and joint technology development and production, according to the FO.
“Acting with a sense of regional ownership, the three countries reiterate their determination to work together within the framework of the Makkah Agreement to achieve sustainable peace and stability in their region,” the FO said. “To that end, they will continue to support efforts towards de-escalation and restraint to encourage peaceful resolution of crises,” it added.
