Alliance · Defense pact
Mecca pact
Makkah Joint Defence Agreement
The Mecca pact is a mutual defense agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in Mecca on August 7, 2026. Its joint statement says an armed attack on any one of the three counts as an attack on all of them. It grew out of a Saudi-Pakistani pact of September 2025. Its full text is secret, and Turkey's parliament has not yet approved it.
- Members
- 3
- Signed August 7, 2026
- Secretariat
- Riyadh
- Set up August 31, 2026
- Secretary General
Nauman Mahmood- Retired general, since September 2026
- Active troops
- 1.27 million
- The three together, 2026
- Nuclear warheads
- 170
- All Pakistan's, 2026
Which countries are in the Mecca pact?
The pact has three members: Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Pakistan's prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, signed it at Al-Safa Palace in Mecca on August 7, 2026, after nearly a year of negotiations. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan call it the "Makkah Joint Defence Agreement." It grew out of a bilateral pact the two signed in Riyadh on September 17, 2025.
Officials say others may join. On August 8, 2026 Turkey's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said he expects Egypt to join "at the next stage." Egypt says it is studying the "legal, constitutional and technical issues." Syria's foreign minister said in August 2026 that Syria was reviewing its options. On September 10 Pakistan's foreign ministry said expansion was not under discussion.
- Member
- Not a member
All 3 members
What does the Mecca pact promise?
On paper, it promises the same thing as NATO. Turkey's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said on August 8, 2026 that the pact is "technically" the same as Article 5 of NATO's treaty, with "no common threat that we have put in writing." NATO's promise is not automatic either. Each ally takes "such action as it deems necessary."
Turkey is the only NATO member of the three. NATO's Article 5 covers Europe and North America, so it would not apply to an attack on Saudi Arabia or Pakistan. Turkey's foreign minister said the pact "does not eliminate or replace Türkiye's obligations arising from NATO." President Trump welcomed it on August 16, 2026, calling it a "BIG, BOLD, AND IMPORTANT FIRST STEP."
Any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all.
Only a short joint statement has been released. Even the full terms of the 2025 Saudi-Pakistani pact are confidential.
A member under attack must ask for help and say what it needs, from intelligence to troops, Turkey's foreign minister said.
Turkey's parliament must approve it. On September 25, 2026 its speaker said the agreement had not been submitted.
Set up on August 31, 2026 in Riyadh, led by retired Pakistani general Nauman Mahmood. There is no joint command or standing force.
Why did Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign it?
For Saudi Arabia, the pacts add protectors besides the United States. On September 9, 2025 Israel struck Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, a US partner. Eight days later Saudi Arabia signed a bilateral pact with Pakistan. CNN linked the timing to Gulf states' growing doubts about US protection. A senior Saudi official said it was "not a response to specific countries or specific events." Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, Iran and its allies have fired on Saudi Arabia and its neighbors.
The three bring different things. Saudi Arabia has money, Pakistan has a large army and nuclear weapons, and Turkey has an arms industry. The United States designated Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO ally in January 2026. Pakistan has had that status since 2004.
What each country gets
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Saudi ArabiaProtectionUnder Iranian and Houthi missile and drone attack in 2026 and short of interceptors, Saudi Arabia gets two more armies pledged to its defense.
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PakistanMoney
Saudi Arabia extended $5 billion in deposits in Pakistan through 2028 and added $3 billion more in April 2026.
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TurkeyArms salesThe world's 11th-largest arms exporter in 2021 to 2025. Pakistan takes 16% of Turkish exports. Saudi Arabia ordered Akıncı combat drones in 2023.
Has the Mecca pact been tested?
The pact was tested within days. Yemen's Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia on July 20, 2026. Two days after the signing, on August 9, a Houthi drone hit Aramco's Jazan refinery. On September 8 Houthi attacks wounded at least 73 people in southern Saudi Arabia. On September 16 Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a drone heading for Mecca. The Houthis denied it.
No member has sent forces under the pact. On September 17 Turkish and Pakistani officials said Saudi Arabia had not asked for help. Saudi Arabia asked France, Britain, Egypt and Pakistan for air defense help instead. On September 25 the three military chiefs met in Riyadh and pledged to defend Saudi Arabia's "security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity." The roughly 8,000 Pakistani troops in Saudi Arabia, reported by Reuters in May 2026, were sent under the 2025 pact.
The Mecca pact's first test
- July 20Houthis declare a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia
- Aug 7The three leaders sign the pact in Mecca
- Aug 9Houthi drone hits the Jazan oil refinery
- Aug 31Ministers set up a secretariat in Riyadh
- Sept 8Houthi attacks wound at least 73 people in Saudi Arabia
- Sept 16Saudi Arabia says it stopped a drone heading for Mecca
- Sept 17Turkey and Pakistan say Riyadh has not asked for help
- Sept 25The three military chiefs meet in Riyadh
Do Pakistan's nuclear weapons protect Saudi Arabia?
No one has said so officially. The day after the 2025 pact was signed, Pakistan's defense minister, Khawaja Asif, said on television: "What we have, and the capabilities we possess, will be made available to (Saudi Arabia)." He told Reuters nuclear weapons were "not on the radar." A senior Saudi official called it "a comprehensive defensive agreement that encompasses all military means." On September 29, 2026 the defense minister said: "Any enemy of Saudi Arabia is an enemy of Pakistan."
Pakistan has about 170 nuclear warheads (2026). Analysts have long judged that Saudi Arabia helped pay for Pakistan's nuclear program from the 1970s. This has never been proven, and Pakistan has called such reports baseless. In 1999 Saudi Arabia's defense minister, Prince Sultan, visited Pakistan's uranium enrichment plant at Kahuta.
What each country brings
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Saudi Arabia$83.2 billion
Military spending in 2025, seven times Pakistan's. The United States supplied 77% of Saudi Arabia's arms imports in 2021 to 2025.
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Turkey355,200 troops
Active troops in 2026. NATO counts Turkey's armed forces as second-largest in the alliance, after those of the United States.
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Pakistan170 warheads
The only nuclear power of the three, with 660,000 active troops (2026). China supplied 80% of Pakistan's arms imports in 2021 to 2025.
Is it in the Mecca pact?
Short answers for the countries people ask about most.
Is Egypt in the Mecca pact?
NoEgypt is studying it. Turkey's foreign minister said in August 2026 that he expects Egypt to join "at the next stage."
Is Syria in the Mecca pact?
NoSyria's foreign minister said on August 20, 2026 that Syria was reviewing its options and had made no decision.
Is Bangladesh in the Mecca pact?
NoReports conflict on whether Saudi Arabia invited Bangladesh. Bangladesh's foreign minister said it would "consider it positively."
Is Qatar in the Mecca pact?
NoQatar welcomed the pact. Turkey has had troops at a base in Qatar since 2015.
Is the UAE in the Mecca pact?
NoThe UAE also stayed out of a separate Saudi-led maritime defense alliance launched in July 2026.
Is Iran in the Mecca pact?
NoTurkey says the pact is not aimed at Iran. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, welcomed it with a call for Muslim unity.
Is Azerbaijan in the Mecca pact?
NoAzerbaijan has its own alliance with Turkey, the Shusha Declaration of 2021.
Is Indonesia in the Mecca pact?
NoIndonesia has not asked to join. In 2025 Indonesia agreed to buy 48 of Turkey's KAAN fighter jets.
Is Kuwait in the Mecca pact?
NoKuwait welcomed the pact, as did Bahrain and Qatar. All three are Saudi Arabia's partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Is India in the Mecca pact?
NoIndia said in August 2026 it was examining the pact's implications for its national security and regional stability.
