Istanbul hosts first meeting of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye under Makkah Defence Agreement

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2026-08-31T15:39:00+05:00

Istanbul (Web Desk): Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Monday held their first high-level meeting under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul, bringing together senior political and military leadership from the three allied countries.

Pakistan’s delegation included Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

Before the formal proceedings, the foreign and defence ministers of the three countries, accompanied by senior military commanders, assembled for a group photograph at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace.

Anadolu Agency reported that Turkiye was represented by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu.

Saudi Arabia’s delegation comprised Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Chief of General Staff General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili.

Footage released by Anadolu Agency showed the participating officials seated inside the meeting hall, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan sitting at the centre. The video also captured Fidan welcoming Ishaq Dar, Field Marshal Asim Munir and other delegates as they arrived.

In a statement on Sunday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) had that the meeting would be held by the Strategic Political and Defence Committee formed under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.

The FO said that Pakistan’s presence at the gathering reflects its deep-rooted relations with Turkiye and Saudi Arabia and its commitment to promoting durable peace and stability in the region.

The inaugural ministerial-level session under the Makkah agreement is being regarded as the beginning of a formal mechanism for closer strategic and defence coordination among the three countries.

TRT reported that the participants were also expected to work out the proposed structure of a secretariat and other mechanisms required under the agreement. They were also likely to formulate a roadmap defining the next phase of trilateral cooperation.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, which was signed on August 7, commits the three countries to regard an attack on any one member as an attack against all three.

Prior to the first trilateral session, representatives of the signatory states conducted a number of separate bilateral meetings in Istanbul.

Field Marshal Asim Munir met Turkish National Defence Minister Yaşar Güler before the first gathering under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. The Turkish Ministry of National Defence later posted a video of their meeting on X.

Güler also met Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif separately, with Turkish Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroglu present during the discussion.

As per the Radio Pakistan, Khawaja Asif and Turkish leadership agreed to further develop cooperation in the field of joint defence, particularly at the regional level.

On the sidelines of the trilateral meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also held talks with his Saudi counterpart.

FM Fidan had met Ishaq Dar a day earlier on Sunday, while both the Pakistani deputy prime minister and Field Marshal Asim Munir had reached Turkiye one day before the trilateral gathering.

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