Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan set to sign joint defence pact in Jeddah

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are expected to sign a joint defence agreement on Friday, according to regional sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The signing ceremony is scheduled to take place in Jeddah, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by Pakistan's army chief General Asim Munir, are due to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The pact comes after nearly a year of negotiations and at a time of heightened regional instability. Gulf states have come under attack from Iran following U.S. and Israeli strikes on the country, exposing security vulnerabilities and disrupting shipping of oil and other goods through the Strait of Hormuz.

A Turkish official confirmed the agreement will be signed. The deal further cements ties among a grouping of major Sunni Muslim powers, though the specific commitments of each state were not immediately clear.

Turkey is a NATO member, Saudi Arabia is a key U.S. ally and one of the world's largest oil exporters, while Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim nation.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in January that Ankara favoured 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," a Saudi official has previously said.

The Pakistani military and government, as well as Saudi Arabia's government, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.