Pakistan Announces Date and Location for New Meeting of the "Makkah Agreement" Countries

- The Pakistani Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, said at a press conference held in Islamabad on Friday that senior government ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan will hold a meeting in Riyadh next week as part of the Mecca Agreement for mutual defense among the three countries. Ishaq Dar added that the foreign and defense ministers and military leaders from the three countries will meet next week "to review the latest developments and the ground reality, particularly concerning the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," affirming: "We are committed to defending Saudi Arabia."

Last month, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed a mutual defense agreement similar to NATO, stating that any attack targeting any of them "is considered an attack on all of them." This agreement comes at a time when Riyadh is facing threats on multiple fronts, including threats from the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen, and the recent strikes launched by the group against Saudi Arabia, including those targeting the capital Riyadh, have put the strategic agreement to the test.

Ishaq Dar stated that the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia had "agreed in principle" to hold this upcoming meeting, following an initial meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 24.