Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan to sign defence pact

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will sign a joint defence agreement in Jeddah on Friday, Al-Monitor reported, citing regional sources and a Turkish official.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the signing, the report said. Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir will accompany Sharif.

The pact follows nearly a year of negotiations, which Reuters reported on in January, according to the article. Al-Monitor said there was no immediate clarity on each state’s commitments under the agreement.

The pact further cements a growing grouping of major Sunni Muslim powers. Turkey is a NATO member, Saudi Arabia is a U.S. ally, a top oil exporter and the strongest Gulf state, and Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim country.

The signing comes amid regional turmoil, with Gulf states coming under fire from Iran after Iran was attacked by the U.S. and Israel. Iran war has exposed Gulf security vulnerabilities and disrupted shipping of oil and other key goods through the Strait of Hormuz.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in January that Ankara favored a broader regional security platform to promote cooperation and stability. An existing Saudi-Pakistani pact treats an attack on either country as an attack on both and encompasses “all military means,” citing a Saudi official previously quoted by Reuters.