The foreign and defense ministers and chiefs of general staff of Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia met in Istanbul for the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement. In a joint statement, the three countries reaffirmed their determination to strengthen cooperation for sustainable peace and stability based on regional ownership. They reached an agreement on the peaceful resolution of crises, the reduction of tensions and the promotion of restraint. It was decided to establish a Secretariat in Saudi Arabia, headed by a Secretary-General, in order to institutionalize cooperation under the Makkah Agreement. The Secretariat will initially be headed by a Secretary-General from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for a period of three years. The three countries will work in the areas of the defense industry, joint technology development and joint production to strengthen solidarity and collective deterrence. Hakan Fidan announced that the first institutional decisions of the Makkah Defense Alliance had been formally adopted.
Why it matters
The decisions taken show that a step has been taken to transform the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement from merely a political understanding into a structure with regular operations. The Secretariat to be established in Saudi Arabia and the first three-year term of the Secretary-General determine the institutional channel through which coordination between the three countries will be conducted. The meeting of foreign policy and defense officials within the same committee demonstrates that crisis management and defense cooperation will be addressed together. The areas of the defense industry, technology development and joint production expand the agreement’s practical fields of activity. However, the statement leaves open which projects and decision-making mechanisms will be used to implement this cooperation.