Photo: Collected
A meeting on the ‘Strategic Political Defence Committee’ under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement will be held in Riyadh soon to determine regional security and strategy. Ishaq Dar, foreign minister of Pakistan, one of the partners in the alliance, gave this information on Friday (2 October). Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey have confirmed that they have begun work immediately with the aim of turning the commitments of the agreement into effective military cooperation.
A statement from Pakistan’s defence ministry said the announcement came after a meeting held in Riyadh with the participation of the chiefs of defence forces and chiefs of staff of the signatory countries. The three countries reiterated their collective resolve to turn the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement into practical steps in the military field.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the agreement at a trilateral summit held in Makkah on 7 August this year. Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif were present at the summit.
The agreement was signed after lengthy discussions among Riyadh, Ankara and Islamabad with the aim of strengthening collective efforts to tackle security challenges and military threats and consolidating defence cooperation on the basis of mutual strategic interests and existing relations. An important condition of the agreement is that any external armed attack on Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Pakistan will be regarded as an attack against all three countries.
Source: Al Arabiya
