ANKARA (The Thursday Times) — A Turkish parliamentary committee on Tuesday approved the bill to ratify the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, leaving Türkiye as the last of the three signatories to complete ratification.
The Grand National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee passed the bill after Deputy Foreign Minister Levent Gumrukcu answered lawmakers’ questions, The Express Tribune reported. Gumrukcu said Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had already completed their domestic procedures and sent the required notifications. The pact was signed in Makkah on August 7 by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
‘Integration rather than bloc-building’
Gumrukcu called the agreement “a concrete product of the regional ownership increasingly needed in our region” and said it was entirely defensive, aimed at no country, and open to any regional state that respects international law. “The agreement envisions integration rather than bloc-building in the region,” he said.
He said the pact provides for collective deterrence, regular security consultations, joint training and exercises to improve interoperability between the three armed forces, joint defence production and technology sharing, closer counter-terrorism cooperation and logistical support.
The vote comes days after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye held their first Makkah Pact talks with Iran, and as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia test the new alliance. Pakistan has vowed to defend the kingdom “with full force”. The bill now goes to the full assembly.
