Makkah Defence Alliance to be institutionalised, Pakistan to head secretariat for 3 years: FO

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have agreed to further institutionalise their cooperation under the Makkah Agreement to strengthen collective deterrence and defence, with the alliance’s secretariat to be initially headed by Pakistan for three years, 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, held in Istanbul.

Foreign and defence ministers of the three countries, as well as top military officials, attended the meeting in Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace.

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif represented Pakistan.

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 secretariat will initially be headed by a secretary general from Pakistan for a period of three years.

The three countries also agreed to take steps to further institutionalise their cooperation in a manner that would enhance their solidarity, ensure the credibility and effectiveness of their collective deterrence and defence, and contribute to regional efforts and cooperative security towards a just, inclusive and lasting peace.

“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. To that end, they will continue to support efforts towards de-escalation and restraint to encourage peaceful resolution of crises,” added the FO statement.

The three countries will also seek to strengthen their defence capabilities and the cohesion of their armed forces through joint activities, robust defence industry cooperation, and joint technology development and production, the FO said.

“Through the institutionalised and resolute implementation of the Makkah Agreement, the three countries will provide essential contributions to regional peace and stability,” it added.

‘Makkah Defence Alliance’

Earlier, Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the tripartite agreement between Ankara, Islamabad and Riyadh will be known as “Makkah Defence Alliance”, with its first secretary general to be from Pakistan.

He made the announcement while addressing a press conference following the first meeting of the committee, established under the agreement.

In his press conference, Fidan noted that his country hosted the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee on Monday.

He said the meeting was held “in relation to the concrete steps that are going to be taken for the implementation of the agreement” and an exchange of views was held for that purpose.

“As of today, we have started the process of establishing the institutional structure of the alliance,” Fidan said, announcing that the agreement’s official name will be “Makkah Defence Alliance”.

“There is a secretariat that has been established in Riyadh, and the first secretary general will be appointed amongst our Pakistani brothers,” he said.

He said that during the meeting, decisions were taken on “how and when to begin institutionalisation and all our brothers expressed views during the meeting”.

Fidan hoped that decisions taken in the meeting will yield “excellent results”.

“For the future of a secure, stable and prosperous region, this alliance is based on international principles such as respecting the sovereignty of other states, territorial integrity and not intervening in internal affairs,” he said, adding that the alliance was not against any country.

He maintained that the alliance was “open for the partnership and participation of any other country”. However, Fidan stressed that there were “some conditions, rules and standards”, adding that the alliance’s nature was such that it was “expected to expand”.

Stressing the need for institutionalisation of the alliance, he said: “If an ally wants to join, the alliance should be functional in a proper manner by then.”

He added that the alliance did not “eliminate our countries’ responsibilities to other agreements or alliances”. Fidan hoped that with Monday’s meeting, the three countries had demonstrated readiness to take responsibility for the security and stability of the region.

“We will closely cooperate with friendly countries, and we will continue coordinating our efforts,” he said. Fidan also noted that the lack of “alliances and trust” between regional countries had given rise to security problems.

The joint defence pact, signed on August 7, empowers the member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them.

CDF Munir meets Saudi defence minister

Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on the sidelines of the first meeting of the Strategic Political Defence Committee of the Makkah Defence Alliance, according to a post on his X account.

He said that he and Field Marshal Munir reviewed the potential for military and defence cooperation between Islamabad and Riyadh and “discussed developments in the regional situation and the efforts being made in response to them”.

Inaugural meeting of ‘Makkah Defence Alliance’

The Foreign Office (FO) shared pictures from the tripartite meeting, which was attended by FM Dar, Asif and CDF Munir.

DPM Dar, in a post on X, termed it a “great inaugural meeting”.

According to Anadolu Agency, Fidan, National Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu represented Turkiye at the meeting.

Representing Saudi Arabia, FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Chief of General Staff General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili attended the meeting.

Anadolu Agency also shared a video showing the participants seated in a hall, with Fidan seated in the middle. The clip showed the Turkish FM greeting Dar, CDF Munir and others at the venue.

In a statement issued on Sunday, FO said Pakistan’s participation in the meeting signifies its “historic bonds of friendship with the brotherly countries of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, as well as its desire for lasting regional peace and stability”.

The maiden ministerial meeting under the Makkah pact is being seen as the first step towards establishing a framework for trilateral strategic and defence cooperation.

Bilateral meetings

Ahead of the trilateral pact’s inaugural moot, the signatories held multiple bilateral meetings in Istanbul.

CDF Munir met Turkish National Defence Minister Yaşar Güler ahead of the first meeting under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul.

In a post on the social media platform X, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence shared a video of CDF Munir meeting Güler.

The Turkish minister also held a separate meeting with Asif, with Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu in attendance.

According to Radio Pakistan, Asif and the Turkish leadership agreed to enhance joint defence cooperation in the region.

Meanwhile, Turkiye’s foreign minister met his Saudi counterpart on the margins of the trilateral moot.

Fidan had already held a meeting with Dar on Sunday. Both the deputy premier and the army chief had arrived in Turkiye a day earlier.

After concluding his visit to Istanbul, Dar departed for Bishkek alongside the Turkish foreign and defence ministers, FO said.

He will join Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistani delegation for the SCO Council of Heads of State Meeting and the SCO Plus Summit.