WASHINGTON, DC
U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 16 said that he was pleased by the recent signing of a defense pact between Türkiye Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
“Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“It shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way,” he wrote, calling it a “BIG, BOLD, IMPORTANT FIRST STEP.”
The deal, known as the Mecca Pact, was signed in the holy city on Aug. 7 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
Under the agreement, an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be treated as an attack against all three, establishing a collective-deterrence provision that analysts have compared with
NATO’s Article 5. Officials have cautioned, however, against viewing the pact as a NATO equivalent or as being directed against any particular country.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Aug. 17 praised Trump for his “kind words of support” following the signing of the trilateral defense pact.
The three countries will also share a commitment to participating in efforts to resolve the conflict between Iran and the United States.
The agreement comes amid a U.S.-Iran war that has extended violence to the region, including Iran-backed Houthi rebel attacks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also said Egypt could join the joint defense pact, signaling that the nascent alliance is open to expanding its reach.
“This agreement has sent an important message to the world,” Erdoğan told Al Jazeera in an interview aired Aug. 16. He said Egypt’s participation was among the options for expanding the agreement in the future.