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🇰🇷 South Korea /Conflict & Security

Mecca Defense Pact Begins Expansion, Declares It Open to All Regional States

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan agreed to establish a permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia for their Mecca mutual defense agreement.
  • The three countries said the pact would remain open to all regional states, with Pakistan saying six or seven Islamic countries had expressed interest.
  • The agreement treats an armed attack on any one member as an attack on all three, as the members seek a new regional security framework.

Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan have begun turning their Mecca mutual defense agreement into a broader regional security structure, agreeing to establish a permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia.

A new security and cooperation system in our region is beginning with this agreement. The agreement is open to all countries in the region.

— Hakan FidanTürkiye’s foreign minister announced the pact’s expansionist approach after the Istanbul meeting.

The three countries held the pact’s first Strategic Political and Defense Committee meeting in Istanbul on Aug. 31. Their foreign and defense ministers, along with military chiefs of staff, discussed stronger military and security cooperation. Pakistan will provide the first secretary-general for the secretariat’s initial three-year operating period.

The agreement, signed on Aug. 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, states that an armed attack against one member will be treated as an attack against the alliance as a whole. The pact has drawn attention as the three countries seek a multilateral security arrangement centered on regional states.

Six or seven Islamic countries have recently expressed interest in joining the agreement.

— Ishaq DarPakistan’s foreign minister discussed potential new members.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the agreement had opened a process to build “a new security and cooperation system” in the region and stressed that it was open to all regional countries. Officials are discussing membership conditions, procedures and standards. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said six or seven Islamic countries had recently expressed interest in joining. Bangladesh has formally indicated that it wants to join, while reports of possible Iranian membership were denied by Iran.

We are very pleased to see that the Mecca mutual defense agreement has finally been signed. The Middle East is coming together, and it shows that countries can finally defend themselves in a more meaningful way.

— Donald TrumpThe U.S. president welcomed the agreement in a social-media post.

Fidan said the pact would complement Türkiye’s existing alliance obligations, including those linked to NATO, rather than replace them. U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the agreement in an Aug. 16 social-media post, calling it a “big, bold and important first step.”

A big, bold and important first step.

— Donald TrumpTrump’s characterization of the defense pact.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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