Ankara, 22 October. A bill approving the Mecca Agreement on Joint Defence between Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia has been submitted to the Turkish parliament under the signature of Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus, Anadolu reports.
The three-article bill concerns the agreement the three countries signed in Mecca on 7 August 2026. According to the explanatory memorandum, it is meant to strengthen strategic dialogue and create a security framework in the Middle East and beyond based on cooperation and collective deterrence. The countries undertake to protect one another's independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty and to support one another in exercising the right to self-defence under the UN Charter.
The memorandum contains important caveats. Such measures are subject to each country's constitutional obligations, national legislation and decisions by competent authorities; the collective defence provision is not triggered automatically, and any response is decided by mutual agreement after consultations. The agreement is described as exclusively defensive and not directed against any country; it is open to other states in the region and neither cancels nor replaces Türkiye's existing obligations, including its commitments as a NATO ally.
What it means: The Mecca pact has moved a step towards ratification in Türkiye, and the explanatory memorandum has clarified its meaning: unlike Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, with which the pact has been compared, the response to an attack here is not automatic but decided by agreement among the parties.
Who benefits: Saudi Arabia, which is under attack from Yemen's Houthis and may receive support from two of the region's largest armies, and Türkiye and Pakistan, which are expanding military and defence industry cooperation. After ratification, as Reuters reported, a document on sending a Turkish contingent to Saudi Arabia will be submitted to parliament.
Background: Türkiye, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia signed the Badr memorandum on cooperation in military production in Doha on 21 October; Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan ruled out Turkish troops taking part in offensive operations.
List of sources used: Anadolu
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
