Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey Sign Mecca Joint Defence Agreement Friday in Mecca, Stipulating Attack on One Is Attack on All

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the accord, which stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Makkah summit agreement sets mutual-defence clause and cooperation

The pact was executed during a meeting of the three leaders in Saudi Arabia and is titled the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, also rendered as the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. Pakistan's Foreign Office, as quoted in the reports, said the agreement was signed at the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence.^[3][4]

According to the summit statement described in the reports, the agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three states. The Foreign Office description characterized it as establishing a collective defence commitment in the event of an armed attack on any one member.^[3][4]

The operative language repeated across the reports states that an attack on one will be treated as an attack on all, phrased in the official summary as any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all. Pakistan's statement summarized the principle as attack on any of the three will amount to an attack against all.^[1][2][3][4]

Reports place pact amid West Asia conflict and prior Saudi-Pakistan framework

One report placed the signing against escalating conflict in West Asia, stating that Saudi Arabia had sustained numerous strikes amid the ongoing conflict in Iran and seeking to broaden security partnerships. The same report said the kingdom's key infrastructure and petroleum assets were targeted in successive drone and missile operations that the report attributed to Iran and its regional proxies, including the Houthis and Iraqi militia groups.^[3]

That report also said the pact coincided with friction between Turkey and Israel regarding Gaza and broader regional hostilities encompassing conflicts in Iran and Lebanon, and described speculation about a broader regional alliance sometimes referred to as an Islamic NATO. It described the tripartite agreement as building on a bilateral security framework established last year, when Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's state visit to Riyadh, which similarly pledged that aggression against either would be treated as an attack on both.^[3]

The report cited Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif as saying in a May interview with Hum News that the existing Islamabad-Riyadh axis could expand to include Turkiye and Qatar, and quoted him as saying such an economic and defence arrangement would minimize dependence on outside the region and that while not directed against anyone, it is important to protect peace within the region. The report further said India had previously said it was evaluating ramifications after the initial bilateral Saudi-Pakistan agreement, with Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal quoted as calling it a long-standing arrangement and saying New Delhi would study implications for national security and regional stability.^[3]