Steps being taken to institutionalise 'game-changing' Makkah defence pact: Turkish foreign minister

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday that the Makkah defence alliance involving Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia is at an advanced stage, with the establishment of its headquarters and deployment of personnel as the remaining steps towards its institutionalisation, describing it as a potentially “game-changing platform”.

Signed by Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on August 7, the pact is based on the principles of shared responsibility and regional ownership amid growing regional and global instability. The agreement aims to promote security, peace, stability and prosperity while strengthening collective deterrence.

Under the agreement, an attack against any one of the signatory states will be considered an attack against all parties.

Speaking in a live interview on Turkish broadcaster NTV, Fidan said there was “very strong will” behind the alliance and expressed confidence that further discussions would take place on expanding it to include other countries in the region.

“The Makkah alliance is at a good stage, and there’s a very strong will behind it,” Fidan said. “The only stage remaining now is to deploy personnel and establish its headquarters.”

Read: Houthis say they targeted ‘sensitive sites’ in Riyadh, oil sites in Saudi port city Yanbu

He said the alliance could subsequently be expanded.

“I believe that once steps toward institutionalisation are taken, further talks will be held on bringing in new allies from the region,” he said.

Fidan described the alliance as a potentially significant regional platform.

“The Makkah alliance will be a very game-changing platform,” he said.

Commenting on Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, the Turkish foreign minister said Ankara stood in solidarity with Riyadh over what he described as attacks on its territorial integrity.

“We’re now seeing very serious attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity. We stand in solidarity on this issue,” he said.

The foreign minister said Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty had come under serious attack, adding that Türkiye was bound by its alliance commitments.

“Saudi Arabia may need military-level support. As the Makkah alliance, we will take this up with Pakistan and can provide the necessary technical support,” he said.

He said Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry had condemned the attacks on oil infrastructure near Makkah, adding that the alliance was closely monitoring the situation. Any military support, he noted, would likely focus on specific technical areas.

Fidan also said Saudi Arabia should not be drawn into the conflict between Iran and the United States.

“We won’t allow this to be made part of the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US. Saudi Arabia should be kept out of this,” he said.

Responding to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements targeting Türkiye, Fidan said the Israeli leader was seeking to preserve his political position at home.

“Netanyahu is declaring himself indispensable and pursuing various means to remain in power and strengthen his political position at home,” he said.

He warned that Israel would face growing isolation under Netanyahu’s policies.

“Israel will not only grow increasingly isolated, but will also pay the price for this together with Netanyahu,” Fidan said.

“Under Netanyahu’s policies, Israel is a threat to the world,” he added.

On efforts to resolve the crisis around the Bab el-Mandeb strait, Fidan said several initiatives were under way but needed to produce concrete outcomes through the parties concerned.

“There are many initiatives, but these initiatives need to produce certain outcomes through the relevant parties,” he said.