Türkiye’s Chief of General Staff Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu will travel to Saudi Arabia on Friday to attend a meeting of military chiefs under the Mecca defense alliance, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.
“Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu will travel to Saudi Arabia today to attend the Mecca Defense Alliance Chiefs of General Staff Meeting,” the ministry said in a statement.
The meeting comes as Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan continue efforts to institutionalize cooperation under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by the three countries in August.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also discussed the process with his Saudi and Pakistani counterparts during a meeting held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Fidan met Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar as part of the Mecca Agreement for Joint Defense Foreign Ministers Meeting.
The ministers reviewed the latest stage of technical-level negotiations aimed at institutionalizing cooperation under the agreement and discussed preparations for a subsequent meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement in the Saudi city on Aug. 7.
The agreement establishes a collective defense framework among Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, with an attack against any one of the three countries considered an attack against all parties.
The three countries say the pact is intended to strengthen collective deterrence and promote regional security, peace and stability amid growing regional and international instability.
Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia held the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee established under the agreement in Istanbul on Aug. 31.
At that meeting, the three countries agreed to take further steps to institutionalize cooperation and establish a secretariat in Saudi Arabia headed initially by a Pakistani secretary-general for a three-year term.
They also agreed to pursue cooperation in the defense industry, joint technology development and production, as well as efforts to improve interoperability among their armed forces.
