Istanbul, August 31, 2026: Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Monday formally launched the institutionalisation process of their trilateral defence framework, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announcing that the alliance will officially be known as the Makkah Defence Alliance and that its first secretary general will be appointed from Pakistan.
Fidan made the announcement at a press conference following the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement at Istanbul’s Çırağan Palace.
Foreign and defence ministers and senior military officials from the three countries attended the meeting. Pakistan was represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
Fidan said the meeting focused on concrete steps for implementing the agreement and initiating its institutional structure.
“As of today, we have started the process of establishing the institutional structure of the alliance,” he said, announcing the official name as the Makkah Defence Alliance.
He said a secretariat had been established in Riyadh and that the first secretary general would be appointed from Pakistan. A joint statement later confirmed that the secretariat would initially be headed by a Pakistani secretary general for a three-year term.
Fidan said the alliance was founded on principles including respect for national sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of states.
He stressed that the alliance was not directed against any country and remained open to the participation of other friendly countries that met its conditions and standards.
“The alliance is expected to expand,” Fidan said, while emphasising that its institutionalisation needed to progress before additional members could effectively join.
He also clarified that the new alliance would not replace or undermine the existing bilateral and multilateral alliances and commitments of its member states.
Fidan said the three countries had demonstrated their readiness to assume greater responsibility for regional security and stability, adding that a lack of trust and effective regional alliances had contributed to existing security challenges.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye in Makkah on August 7. The agreement stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be regarded as an attack against all three, while also providing for enhanced defence cooperation.
Monday’s meeting marked the first formal step towards transforming the political agreement into an institutional framework for trilateral strategic and defence cooperation.
The three sides also discussed strengthening defence capabilities, interoperability among their armed forces and cooperation in defence technology, joint development and production.
Ahead of the trilateral meeting, Pakistan’s top military and civilian officials held separate bilateral engagements with their Turkish counterparts.
Field Marshal Asim Munir met Turkish National Defence Minister Yaşar Güler, while Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also held talks with Güler in the presence of Turkish Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu.
Dar held discussions with Fidan, while the Turkish foreign minister also met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on the sidelines of the trilateral meeting.
Following the Istanbul engagements, Dar departed for Bishkek alongside the Turkish foreign and defence ministers to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of State meeting and the SCO Plus Summit.
The establishment of the Makkah Defence Alliance marks a significant new step in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye’s strategic cooperation, with the three countries seeking to develop a coordinated framework for regional peace, security and collective defence.
