Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that the ‘Mecca Agreement’ that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey have signed is the same as Nato’s Article 5. The alliance has been called an ‘Islamic Nato’ due to its collective defence clause.
Turkey has said that the mutual defence agreement it has entered into with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is indeed aimed at establishing an ‘Islamic Nato’.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday said that the ‘Makkah Joint Defence Agreement’ signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey is technically similar to Nato’s Article 5, the collective defence clause that underpins the alliance, according to Reuters.
Fidan further said that the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia-Turkey alliance would have a governance structure similar to that of Nato.
Fidan said that a committee of ministers, comparable to Nato’s governing bodies, would be formed as part of the alliance, while a general secretariat would be established in Saudi Arabia. He added that operational details would be determined at the committee’s first meeting.
Fidan also confirmed that the alliance was likely to expand and said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to see more countries join. He identified Egypt as a potential candidate among others.
The remarks appear to confirm analysts’ belief that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are not merely establishing a trilateral alliance but are laying the foundations of a broader Islamic military bloc stretching from West Asia and North Africa to Central Asia. With the inclusion of a collective defence clause, and Fidan’s confirmation that the alliance is modelled on Nato, the view that they are creating an ‘Islamic Nato’ —or a ‘Sunni Nato’— appears all but confirmed.
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The idea of Egypt becoming the alliance’s fourth member has been circulating for some time as the four countries have already been working together on regional issues. In recent months, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt formed a group dubbed ‘R4’ to address challenges such as the ongoing West Asia conflict. While Pakistan has emerged as the principal mediator between the United States and Iran, Turkey has also played a role in the process, and Egypt has been a mediator in United States and Israel’s talks with Hamas.
Fidan also said that the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia-Turkey alliance was not directed against Iran or any other country but was instead intended as a general pledge of mutual support. He added that no country would be viewed as a threat unless a member state came under attack.
Fidan further said that the alliance had not yet decided what would constitute an attack warranting a collective response. He said that member states would determine through consultations the extent and nature of the support they would seek in the event of an attack under the collective defence framework.
But can Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey really form an ‘Islamic Nato’?
Analysts have flagged that the capabilities of the three countries may not match their ambitions.
“These three countries lack the institutional foundations of Nato-like interoperability. Turkey brings the experience of being a Nato member, but Pakistan’s military ecosystem is currently dominated by Chinese technology, while Saudi Arabia remains heavily dependent on US systems. The three can cooperate, and they already do so to varying degrees, but they do not possess Nato’s interoperability standards,” Aishwaria Sonavane, who heads the Pakistan programme at the Takshashila Institution, previously told Firstpost.
Despite the rhetoric, what Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey may actually be seeking —at least at this stage— is something far more modest and pragmatic. Sonavane said they appear to be pursuing a regional deterrence network outside the framework of Western security dependence, shaped in part by the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
“Everybody seems to have their own gains. If we look at Saudi Arabia, it needs strategic insurance. Pakistan wants investment. Turkey possibly wants to expand its defence-industrial footprint,” said Sonavane.
At a summit in Mecca, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif joined Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday to sign the ‘Makkah Joint Defence Agreement’.
“The agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all. It further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three states,” the three leaders said in a joint statement.