Skip to content
Welcome, thoughtbot's Giant Robots listeners!Start here
European Energy Markets
22JUN

Saudis, Turks and Pakistanis invoke pact

4 min read
13:56UTC

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan invoked their Mecca defence pact for the first time in Riyadh on 5 October, agreeing to put its collective defence commitments into practice.

← Back to Spark spread now feeds the winter deficitJump to analysis ↓
EconomicDeveloping
Key takeaway

Turkey and Pakistan pledged forces for Saudi Arabia's defence on 5 October without saying how many, when or where.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan invoked their defence pact for the first time at an emergency meeting in Riyadh on 5 October⁠1. The three agreed "to move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defence commitments", AFP reported⁠2. Pakistan's foreign ministry published the joint statement. It said the three would "provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment" to Saudi Arabia, Al Jazeera reported⁠3. Each would act under its own laws.

Their leaders signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in Mecca on 7 August. The signatories were Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Under it, "any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all", Foreign Policy reported⁠4. Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said the committee "agreed to activate collective deterrence measures", Al Jazeera reported⁠5.

Each state sent its foreign minister, defence minister and army chief, Al-Monitor reported⁠6. Saudi Arabia sent Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and army chief Fayyadh Al-Ruwaili alongside Khalid bin Salman. Turkey sent Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and army chief Selcuk Bayraktaroglu. Pakistan sent Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Mohammed bin Salman met the delegations.

The statement set no force size, timing or role, and gave no breakdown by country⁠7. It cited attacks on the holy cities of Mecca and Medina but did not name the Houthis, AFP and Foreign Policy reported⁠8. Pakistan said it would not release details of any deployment, Foreign Policy reported⁠9. Asif said Pakistan and Turkey already give Riyadh a "supporting role", including reconnaissance, Foreign Policy reported⁠10.

On 8 October Fidan ruled out a Turkish combat role in Yemen. Turkey "will not send its troops to another country's territory to launch an attack", AFP reported⁠11. Turkish and Saudi military delegations would assess what defensive measures might be needed, AFP reported. On 12 October Erdogan said the pact would go to parliament for ratification in the coming days, Reuters reported⁠12.

The meeting fell a day after Yemeni government forces opened their offensive towards Dhubab. Reporting the meeting on 5 October, Al Jazeera said the Houthis had claimed strikes on King Khalid International Airport and an Aramco refinery at Rabigh⁠13. Riyadh did not confirm them. Saudi authorities reported the first airport strikes on 6 October. Pakistani officials told The Arab Weekly on 3 October that 30,000 to 40,000 Pakistani troops already serve in Saudi Arabia, with advisers supporting Yemeni forces⁠14. Dar called an Iranian suggestion to engage the Houthis politically "brainstorming between two foreign ministers"⁠15.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a defence pact in Mecca in August. Each promises to treat an attack on one as an attack on all three. On 5 October their ministers and army chiefs met in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, and agreed to put that promise into practice. They say they will send agreed forces to Saudi Arabia quickly, but no one has said how many or when. The Houthis, a Yemeni armed movement backed by Iran, have been firing missiles and drones into Saudi Arabia.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

The three leaders signed the pact in Mecca on 7 August. Foreign Policy reports its clause that "any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all". The 5 October statement cited attacks on the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Each state's law sets the pace. Pakistan's pledge is subject to each country's laws, and Erdogan said the pact would go to Turkey's parliament for ratification in the coming days, Reuters reported. Turkey's constitution requires parliamentary approval to send troops abroad.

The meeting came the day after Yemen's government opened its Dhubab offensive. Saudi authorities reported the first airport strikes the day after the meeting.

What could happen next?
  • Precedent

    A collective-defence clause invoked within two months of signing commits Turkey and Pakistan politically to Saudi security against the Houthis.

    Medium term · Assessed
  • Risk

    If Pakistani or Turkish forces deploy, Houthi strikes on Saudi targets could hit their troops and draw both states further in.

    Short term · Suggested
  • Consequence

    Turkey's parliament now has a vote on the pact, which puts Ankara's role on a public timetable.

    Short term · Suggested
Sources:The Arab Weekly·Al Jazeera·Foreign Policy
Mentions:Mecca Joint Defence Agreement →Saudi Arabia →Turkey →Pakistan →Riyadh →Mohammed bin Salman →Prince Faisal bin Farhan →Khalid bin Salman →Fayyadh Al-Ruwaili →Hakan Fidan →Yasar Guler →Ishaq Dar →Khawaja Asif →Asim Munir →Recep Tayyip Erdogan →Shehbaz Sharif →Mecca →Houthis →Saudi Aramco →Reuters →Dhubab →Iran →Al Jazeera →Yemen →Arab League →New York →NATO →Foreign Policy →Washington →Al-Monitor →Agence France-Presse →King Khalid International Airport →
First Reported In

Update #181 · Houthi missiles kill 13 at Riyadh's airport

The Arab Weekly· 17 Oct 2026
Read original →
Causes and effects
Caused by
Le Monde reports a Mecca defence pact
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan invoked for the first time the pact they signed in Mecca on 7 August.
Occurred 6 Aug 2026
Read story →
This Event
Saudis, Turks and Pakistanis invoke pact
Turkey and Pakistan have committed on paper to Saudi Arabia's defence, but the statement set no force size, timing or role.
Led to
Turkey sends Mecca pact to parliament
Turkey sent the pact for ratification after invoking it in Riyadh on 5 October.
Occurred 20 Oct 2026
Read story →
Rezaei hosts Mecca pact chiefs in Tehran
The Tehran guests represent the three states that invoked the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on 5 October.
Occurred 26 Oct 2026
Read story →
Turkey ratifies Mecca pact, 279 to 119
Ankara finished ratifying the pact a month after the three states invoked it in Riyadh.
Occurred 5 Nov 2026
Read story →
Different Perspectives
Cross-border power traders
Cross-border power traders
The France-Germany day-ahead spread flipped from a EUR 17.20 German premium on 1 August to a EUR 4.15 French premium on 3 August, the same day French curtailment peaked. They cannot yet attribute the flip to curtailment alone, since a like-for-like overnight comparison shows French nuclear output rising while wind fell and demand returned on the weekday step.
EDF
EDF
River-cooling limits took 7.6 GW, 12 per cent of its fleet, offline on 3 August, the highest curtailment since the heatwave began, with an easing forecast to 4.3 GW on 4 August and 3 GW after. It manages the cut as a recurring seasonal constraint, expecting it to lift with river temperature, not repair.
Gasunie
Gasunie
TTF, the Dutch hub it operates, drifted to roughly EUR 55 to 58 per MWh across the window, staying inside its recent range through both the German spark reversal and the French curtailment. It reads a flat hub price as evidence that neither event this window carried enough weight to move the fuel leg on its own.
German gas-fired generators
German gas-fired generators
Record German solar of 18,761 MW on 2 August pushed the clean spark spread to minus 18.48 EUR/MWh, a loss-making day, before it returned to plus 16.20 on 3 August. They now price dispatch against post-solar residual load rather than wind alone, since the sign flipped inside 48 hours on unchanged fuel and carbon costs.
European Commission (DG Energy)
European Commission (DG Energy)
Its implementing-measures register logged transposition notices from only Portugal and Slovakia against Wednesday's Article 94 deadline for Directive (EU) 2024/1788, with 25 states silent. It expects the register to fill only gradually, since filing routinely lags legislating and any infringement track against non-notifying states runs on a slower clock than the deadline itself.
Spain's LNG terminal operators
Spain's LNG terminal operators
Spain's 9,145 GWh terminal inventory is the largest single stock in the EU LNG network, an option value that can reroute cargoes wherever the winter strip pays best rather than a cavern gas obligation tied to a fixed date. That flexibility matters more as Germany's cavern shortfall pushes more of the winter security question onto import infrastructure.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.