ISTANBUL: Pakistan will provide the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance for a three-year term, the Foreign Office said on Monday after the alliance’s first Strategic Political and Defence Committee meeting.
The meeting was held in Istanbul and brought together the foreign, defence and military chiefs of Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Under the Makkah Agreement, a permanent secretariat will be established in Saudi Arabia to support the alliance’s work.
The Foreign Office said the three countries had agreed to strengthen their cooperation, improve collective defence capabilities and support efforts aimed at reducing tensions in the region. They also pledged to encourage restraint and peaceful solutions to regional crises, as reported by The Express Tribune.
The countries plan to expand joint activities, defence industry cooperation, technology development and weapons production. The Foreign Office said the agreement was intended to contribute to regional peace, stability and a more coordinated security structure.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the Makkah Defence Agreement had begun a process to create a “new security and cooperation architecture” in the region. He said the alliance could gradually improve stability and reduce uncertainty.
Fidan added that initial decisions had been made on the alliance’s institutional structure. He said Türkiye would continue supporting efforts to develop the organisation and described it as a defence arrangement that respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its members.
The Turkish minister said the alliance would remain open to other countries in the region. He also stressed that it would not replace the members’ responsibilities under international organisations such as NATO, but would complement them.
The agreement was presented by the three countries as a framework for regional cooperation rather than an instrument of interference in domestic affairs. Fidan said the members were prepared to take greater responsibility for regional peace and security.
The committee’s inaugural meeting was hosted by Türkiye. It included Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu; Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Field Marshal Asim Munir; and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili.
