MANAMA (The Thursday Times) — Syria is considering joining the Makkah defence pact that binds Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Saturday, in the clearest sign yet that the alliance could expand beyond its three founding members.
“Discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Makkah alliance,” al-Shaibani told the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on August 7, treats an armed attack on any member as an attack on all. Bangladesh has also signalled interest, and Pakistan’s military spokesman said this week that the pact’s wording does not bar new members, adding that “anyone who has a shared vision of collective deterrence and regional peace” was welcome.
Al-Shaibani voiced Damascus’s support for the Gulf states against any aggression and condemned missile and drone attacks on them, as Saudi Arabia faces escalating Houthi strikes. “Geography is destiny, and integration is a choice,” he said. “We have chosen to make our territory a bridge for prosperity and the exchange of interests, and we stand as a bulwark against turning Syria into a platform for threatening neighbouring countries.”
He also condemned repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, said the occupied Golan Heights remained Syrian land, and called for a path to an independent Palestinian state. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week hailed the pact as an “important milestone”.
