Pakistan has completed ratification of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement with Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, its Foreign Office announced on Oct. 23.
Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said Saudi Arabia had also completed the process, while Türkiye was following its domestic approval procedures. Ankara submitted the agreement to parliament on Oct. 20.
“Matters related to the agreement, its ratification, and operationalization remain under discussion by the three parties,” Khan told a news briefing.
He said discussions included meetings of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee, which last convened on Oct. 5. Each country follows its own constitutional and legal procedures for approving international agreements, he added.
Khan reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the pact, describing it as defensive, consistent with the U.N. Charter and intended to promote regional peace, security and stability.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman signed the agreement in Mecca on Aug. 7.
The pact seeks to strengthen collective deterrence and defense, treating an external armed attack on any signatory as an attack on all three. It also provides for defense industry cooperation, including technology sharing, joint development and production.
