Mecca Joint Defence Agreement

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif put their names to the pact in Mecca on 7 August 2026. Under its central clause, an armed attack on Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Pakistan counts as an attack on all three. None of the three governments has released the full text.

Its first use came on 5 October 2026, when the three countries' foreign and defence ministers and Army chiefs met in emergency session in Riyadh. They pledged the forces and capabilities already agreed between them, to be moved quickly to The Kingdom, yet set out no numbers, dates or missions and left the Houthis unnamed.

The agreement opens a treaty path for Turkish and Pakistani troops into the Saudi fight with the Houthis, within limits each partner has drawn. Ankara's Parliament still has to ratify it, and Erdogan said on 12 October the text would reach the chamber within days. Hakan Fidan, Turkey's foreign minister, ruled out on 8 October any Turkish deployment to attack another state's soil. Pakistani officials put their country's troop presence in Saudi Arabia at 30,000 to 40,000, The Arab Weekly reported.