Turkey Submits Makkah Defence Pact With Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to Parliament for Ratification: Reuters
ANKARA: Turkey has submitted its trilateral defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to parliament for ratification, three parliamentary sources told Reuters on Tuesday, moving NATO's second-largest army a step closer to a formal mutual-defence pledge with Riyadh as the kingdom faces intensifying Houthi attacks.
Main News Report
- The submission: Ankara has sent the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement to the Turkish parliament, where ratification is required before Turkey can formally approve it, Reuters reported, citing three parliamentary sources.
- What the pact says: The three countries signed the agreement in August, under which an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all. According to a text seen by Reuters, Article 1 commits the parties to use "all necessary means" to eliminate threats to one another's territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognised borders.
- The mutual-assistance clause: Article 2 states: "In the event one of the parties is subjected to an armed attack or military aggression by another country or group of countries, the parties shall immediately provide assistance to the party under attack, utilising the full range of mutual assistance measures available to them." Reuters noted the provision mirrors NATO's Article 5 and invokes Article 51 of the UN Charter; the scope of support is to be decided after an "objective assessment" and within each party's available resources.
- The next step: Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus, who is visiting Kyrgyzstan, will refer the agreement to parliament's foreign affairs commission on his return, two of the sources said, with the pact's details expected to become public once it reaches the commission. Another source said the commission could debate it as early as Friday.
- Rapid-deployment backdrop: At an emergency meeting of the alliance in Riyadh earlier this month, the three countries agreed to ensure the "rapid deployment" of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.
Background Context
The Makkah pact, signed in August, is one of two defence agreements binding Pakistan and Saudi Arabia — alongside their bilateral Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement — and it was the focus of a GHQ meeting in Rawalpindi on Monday, where Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and the newly appointed Saudi ambassador expressed satisfaction over progress made under the trilateral framework, as covered earlier on this blog.
The ratification move comes as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have intensified in recent weeks, with missile and drone strikes targeting oil facilities and Riyadh's King Khalid airport. Reuters also reported on Tuesday that Britain will fly RAF Typhoon fighter jets on defensive missions to help protect Saudi cities and critical infrastructure from Houthi aerial attacks, following a request from the Saudi government.
Reactions and Statements
A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Turkey's own contribution under the alliance was expected to be limited to military equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems, adding that no other form of deployment had taken place under the alliance so far.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the Makkah Agreement was not an "offensive agreement", adding that Turkey would not send troops to another country to carry out attacks on its territory, according to Reuters.
Reuters further reported that Turkey has condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, expressed willingness to help meet Riyadh's military technology needs, and agreed to join a Saudi-led coalition to ensure navigational safety in the Red Sea.
Why This News Matters
- Pakistan is a signatory: Any formalisation of the pact directly affects Pakistan's own mutual-defence commitments with Saudi Arabia and now Turkey.
- NATO's second-largest army steps in: Turkish ratification would bind a major NATO military to a mutual-defence pledge with Riyadh, reshaping Gulf security calculations.
- An Article 5-style commitment: The treaty's mutual-assistance language, modelled on NATO's Article 5, is unusually strong for the region and its full text will become public once it reaches the parliamentary commission.
- Timing amid escalation: The move lands as Houthi strikes on the kingdom intensify and new international military support — including Britain's RAF deployment — flows toward Saudi Arabia.
- From paper to law: Parliamentary ratification turns a signed declaration into binding Turkish law, the first such legislative step among the three allies.
Future Developments
Attention now turns to Ankara: the foreign affairs commission could debate the agreement as early as Friday, and its text is expected to become public once formally submitted. Watch for whether Pakistan's and Saudi Arabia's own legislatures take parallel ratification steps, and whether Turkey's promised military equipment and intelligence support begins flowing to the kingdom as Houthi attacks continue.
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