Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan sign defense pact... Is a new regional security axis being formed?

Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan are on the verge of signing a new tripartite defense agreement, a move that could significantly alter the security landscape in the Middle East and South Asia. The pact, which has been under negotiation for approximately a year, is anticipated to be formalized in Jeddah, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expected to attend.

The foundation for this trilateral cooperation was laid with a "Mutual Defense Agreement" signed between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in September 2025. This existing pact stipulates that an attack on one signatory nation will be considered an attack on both, a principle reminiscent of NATO's collective defense clause. The strategic importance of this agreement is further amplified by Pakistan's status as the sole nuclear-armed nation within the Muslim world.

Indications of Turkey's potential involvement emerged earlier this year. In May, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif expressed satisfaction with the prospect of Turkey and Qatar joining the Saudi Arabia-Pakistan defense arrangement. Asif described the objective as strengthening "regional stability and collective security" by fostering broader cooperation among nations with shared security concerns. While a four-nation mechanism involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Qatar was previously discussed, the current focus appears to be on a trilateral agreement between Ankara, Riyadh, and Islamabad.

A key aspect under discussion for the new agreement is the inclusion of mutual defense obligations. While this was explicitly stated in the Saudi-Pakistani pact, its formal inclusion in the tripartite deal involving Turkey remains unconfirmed by official sources. However, sources close to the negotiations suggest that a mutual defense clause is highly probable. The precise implications, such as whether an attack on Turkey would automatically trigger a response from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, or vice versa, will only be clear once the final text of the agreement is revealed. This development also raises questions about whether the trilateral structure could evolve into a regional collective defense mechanism akin to NATO, though current information is insufficient to confirm such a trajectory.

“

strengthening regional stability and collective security