Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia to hold first Makkah pact meeting in Istanbul

The inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement will be held on Monday in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Pakistan will be represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, according to a Foreign Office statement.

"Pakistan's participation in the meeting signifies Pakistan's historic bonds of friendship with the brotherly countries of Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, as well as its desire for lasting regional peace and stability," the statement said.

The meeting will also be attended by the respective foreign ministers, defence ministers and chiefs of general staff of Türkiye and Saudi Arabia.

The defence deal was signed in the Muslim holy city of Makkah earlier this month and hailed as the first concrete step towards creating a joint Muslim security bloc. It has the potential to expand, and Bangladesh has already shown interest in the pact.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. Under the agreement, an attack against one of the countries will be treated as an attack against all of them, amid escalating security concerns in West Asia.