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The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan will move from paper to the field once the Turkish parliament ratifies it, with the three countries planning military personnel exchanges, joint exercises, and defense industry cooperation, journalist Yesim Eraslan reported in the Türkiye daily.
According to the report, the pact will usher in a new era in defense and security cooperation among the three countries, aiming to give "confidence to friends, a warning to enemies" through joint exercises, while an early warning mechanism is designed to head off threats before they emerge.
The three countries are building a new security architecture through troop exchanges, joint exercises, and joint defense industry projects, while aiming to strengthen collective deterrence against regional threats through intelligence sharing and enhanced early warning capacity, according to the report.
The first pillar of the cooperation will be the exchange of military personnel, the report said. Through exchanges between the armed forces of Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, the three countries aim to increase the transfer of experience among their militaries.
The mechanism is intended to allow the parties to draw more fully on each other's knowledge in training, operations, and military planning, to familiarize the different armed forces with one another's capabilities, and to build a foundation for long-term military cooperation, according to the report.
The second pillar will be joint military exercises, the report said.
Exercises involving the armed forces of all three countries are intended to develop the ability of different units to operate together.
The exercises are expected to help speed coordination in possible crisis and threat scenarios and to increase operational compatibility among the three militaries, according to the report.
The third pillar of the alliance involves the defense industry, the report said, with plans to bring together more effectively the production, technology, and research-and-development capabilities that Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan each possess.
Intelligence sharing also occupies an important place in the security dimension of the "Mecca Alliance," according to the report.
By strengthening the flow of information among the three countries, the aim is to detect regional threats earlier and increase readiness against possible attacks. Developing early warning capacity stands out as one of the elements that will further strengthen the alliance's deterrent dimension, the report said.
Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan signed the joint defense agreement at a trilateral summit in Mecca on Aug. 7, pledging to strengthen collective security, deepen defense cooperation and promote peace and stability in the region and beyond.
The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the summit held at Al-Safa Palace.
The full text of the agreement has not yet been made public.
Fidan has said the pact is "technically the same as" NATO's Article 5 and has separately called the agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan the "most important step" for regional stability through collective defense and greater "regional ownership."
Türkiye's Communications Directorate marked the signing by projecting visuals about the agreement onto landmarks in Ankara and Istanbul on Aug. 7, including the Directorate of Communications building, the Turk Telekom building, and Atakule in Ankara, and the July 15 Martyrs' Bridge, illuminated in the colors of the three countries' flags, in Istanbul.
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