Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia Hold First Defence Committee Meeting
Turkey hosted the inaugural Strategic Political and Defense Committee meeting with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, following their August defence pact.
Istanbul hosted the inaugural session of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee on Monday, bringing together senior civilian and military leadership from Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. The meeting operationalises the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on August 7, which commits the three nations to treat an armed attack on any one of them as an attack on all.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler, and Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu received their counterparts at the Istanbul venue. Saudi Arabia was represented by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, and Gen. Fayyadh al Ruwaili. Pakistan's delegation included Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif, and Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Officials posed for a family photograph before the closed-door deliberations began. The committee is expected to serve as the primary mechanism for coordinating defence and strategic policies among the three countries, deepening trilateral security cooperation in the region.