RIYADH: The defense agreement signed on Friday between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan is not an effort to establish a “military axis or a sectarian bloc,” a senior Saudi minister said.
“Nor is it linked to any nuclear ambitions or arms race, rather it is focused on building sustainable capabilities,” Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly said shortly after the deal was announced.
The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement was signed in the Kingdom by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Krimly said the agreement reflects the depth of the longstanding strategic relationship between the three countries and follows years of negotiations.
He said the deal is intended to strengthen joint defense capabilities and improve military readiness and strategic deterrence.
The deal will “develop and integrate their respective defense capabilities to jointly address any threats to their safety and security,” Krimly said in a statement on social media.
“Under the agreement, any external armed attack against any one of the three countries shall be regarded as an attack against all three,” he said.
The minister made clear that the agreement does not come at the expense of the Kingdom's existing strategic relationships with Gulf, Arab and international partners.
He also said the pact does not replace existing bilateral or multilateral defense agreements and is not aimed at threatening any country or escalating regional tensions.
