ANKARA: Turkiye’s parliament on Thursday ratified the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, paving the way for Ankara to provide military assistance to Riyadh under the trilateral pact.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the agreement in August this year. It was subsequently submitted to the Turkish parliament last month for approval. Under the pact, an attack on any one of the three countries will be considered an attack on all three.
Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the joint defence agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would be presented to parliament for ratification within days.
According to Reuters, a ruling party lawmaker also indicated last month that Turkiye would introduce a separate parliamentary motion seeking authorisation to deploy military personnel in Saudi Arabia under the agreement.
The development comes amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia, raising security concerns across the region.
Last month, an emergency meeting of the Makkah Defence Alliance was held in Riyadh, where participants strongly condemned attempts to target Saudi cities, including Makkah and Madinah, and decided to take immediate steps towards deploying military forces to the kingdom.
The meeting also approved key measures to strengthen the institutional structure of the Makkah Defence Alliance. The committee appointed Pakistan’s Lieutenant General (retd) Nauman Mahmood as the alliance’s first secretary-general for a three-year term.
The committee further decided to immediately implement the three countries’ collective defence commitments.
Under the decision, necessary steps will be taken to provide joint military forces and the required defence capabilities, enabling their swift deployment in Saudi Arabia in accordance with approved arrangements and the national laws of all three countries.
A joint statement said the initiative aims to strengthen defence preparedness, military integration and the collective ability of the three countries to respond to emerging threats.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye also reaffirmed that the security of each member state constitutes an integral part of the collective security of all three countries.
