NEW YORK (MNN); Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia have discussed arrangements for an urgent meeting of the three countries’ chiefs of staff to consider ways of supporting Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, amid renewed Houthi attacks on the kingdom.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held discussions on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed by the three countries on August 7, provides that an attack against one member is to be treated as an attack against all three.
According to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the ministers strongly condemned attacks targeting Makkah as well as civilian and economic facilities in Saudi Arabia. They also commended the readiness of the Saudi armed forces and reaffirmed the kingdom’s right to take measures it considers necessary for its security under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
The ministers also reviewed preparations for the establishment and functioning of the agreement’s General Secretariat, committees and working groups. They exchanged views on regional and international security and stressed respect for international law, state sovereignty, non-interference and freedom of navigation.
The three sides reaffirmed their commitment to regional peace and stability, de-escalation and peaceful solutions to ongoing crises.
Türkiye’s Defence Ministry separately said Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu would travel to Saudi Arabia to meet his Saudi and Pakistani counterparts as part of the defence agreement.
The latest discussions come amid an escalation in Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities said their air defences intercepted six ballistic missiles launched towards the kingdom on Thursday.
Pakistan has repeatedly expressed its commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security. On September 18, ISPR Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan would go to “any extent” to defend Saudi Arabia, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif subsequently pledged to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Riyadh in safeguarding its sovereignty and security.
The Makkah pact’s first institutional meeting was held in Istanbul on August 31, where member states agreed on the alliance’s institutional framework and Pakistan was selected to head its secretariat in Riyadh. Retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood was subsequently appointed its first secretary general.
