ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday that the significance of the Makkah Defense Alliance lies in the possibility of all three members converting their complimentary strengths into a wider architecture of security, investment, economic and connectivity cooperation.

Iqbal was speaking at a conference at the University of Lahore titled: ‘The Makkah Pact & the New Geometry of Power’ about the significance of the recently signed defense pact. Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia signed the trilateral defense pact last month, which stipulates that an attack against any one of the three nations will be considered as an attack on all of them.

The pact was signed in the backdrop of rising tensions in the Middle East, as the United States (US) and Iran continue to trade fire and disrupt regional maritime routes. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye have repeatedly clarified that the agreement is not against any country in particular but is defensive in nature.

Iqbal noted that all three countries part of the Makkah Defense Alliance bring unique strengths to the alliance, with Türkiye possessing a sophisticated industrial base, Pakistan impressive defense capabilities and Saudi Arabia being an economic power.

“The real significance of the Makkah accord, therefore, lies not merely in the aggregation of military capabilities,” the minister said. “It lies in the possibility of converting these complementary strengths into a wider architecture of security, technology, investment, connectivity and economic cooperation.”

Iqbal reiterated that the alliance is not directed against any country nor an attempt to create a “new sphere of confrontation.”

“It is an arrangement for collective deterrence,” he said. “Peace through strength, security through solidarity and stability, through strategic cooperation.”

Iqbal clarified that Pakistan seeks mutually beneficial relations with global powers and its allies in the Muslim world, adding that regional institutions should complement and not undermine the global system.

“The Makkah accord, therefore, should not be understood through the outdated vocabulary of camps and blocs,” he said. “It represents something different. Three sovereign states developing greater capacity to protect their interests while remaining open to cooperation with the world.”

The defense, foreign and military officials of Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia met in Istanbul earlier this week to discuss cooperation within the pact. A joint press release issued after the meeting stated that a secretariat will be established in Saudi Arabia, which will be headed by a Pakistani secretary-general for three years.