Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that the tripartite agreement between Ankara, Islamabad, and Riyadh will be known as "Makkah Defence Alliance", with its first secretary general from Pakistan. The meeting was attended by top officials from each country, including Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. No specific numbers or details on the agreement's terms were provided in the article, but it is expected to outline a framework for trilateral strategic and defence cooperation. The meeting is seen as a first step towards establishing a joint defence pact between the three countries.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-31,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan have formed a new defense alliance, known as the "Makkah Defence Alliance", with its first secretary general coming from Pakistan. The agreement was announced by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who said it would strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression. According to the terms of the deal, an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all. The first meeting under the alliance took place in Istanbul's Ciragan Palace, where officials from each country met and took a "family photo" together. Pakistan was represented by its Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and several high-ranking government officials, while Saudi Arabia and Turkiye sent their respective foreign ministers and top military officials. The alliance is seen as a significant development in regional cooperation between the three countries, which have historic bonds of friendship.
Written for “Middle East Defense Pact” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but every quote it verified points left, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 3228: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-08-31
Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday said that the tripartite agreement between Ankara, Islamabad and Riyadh will be known as “Makkah Defence Alliance”, with its first secretary general to be from Pakistan.
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general → say → Pakistan
He made the announcement while addressing a press conference following the first meeting held under the agreement in Istanbul.
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He → make → Istanbul
Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif represented Pakistan at the meeting.
Foreign and defence ministers of the three countries, as well as top military officials, gathered for a family photo ahead of the meeting in Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace.
According to Anadolu Agency, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu represented Turkiye at the meeting.
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Fidan → represent → meeting
Representing Saudi Arabia, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Chief of General Staff General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili attended the meeting.
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Farhan → represent → meeting
Anadolu Agency also shared a video showing the participants seated in a hall, with Fidan seated in the middle.
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Fidan → share → middle
The clip showed Fidan greeting Dar, CDF Munir and others at the venue.
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Fidan → show → venue
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Foreign Office (FO) said the meeting will comprise the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.
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meeting → issue → Agreement
“Pakistan’s participation in the meeting signifies Pakistan’s historic bonds of friendship with the brotherly countries of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, as well as its desire for lasting regional peace and stability,” the FO said.
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FO → signify → peace
The maiden ministerial meeting under the Makkah pact is being seen as the first step towards establishing a framework for trilateral strategic and defence cooperation.
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meeting → see → cooperation
According to an AFP report, the participants plan to address boosting defence capabilities, the interoperability of their armed forces, and their cooperation in the defence industry.
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participants → accord → industry
Meanwhile, TRT reported that the meeting is expected to outline the framework for a secretariat and other relevant mechanisms, as well as establish a roadmap for steps to be taken in the coming period.
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meeting → report → period
The joint defence pact signed on August 7 empowers the member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them.
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pact → sign → them
Ahead of the trilateral pact’s inaugural moot, the signatories held multiple bilateral meetings in Istanbul.
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signatories → hold → Istanbul
CDF Munir met Turkish National Defence Minister Yaşar Güler ahead of the first meeting under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Istanbul.
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Munir → meet → Istanbul
In a post on the social media platform X, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence shared a video of CDF Munir meeting Güler.
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Munir → share → Güler
The Turkish minister also held a separate meeting with Asif, with Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu in attendance.
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minister → hold → attendance
According to Radio Pakistan, Asif and the Turkish leadership agreed to enhance joint defence cooperation in the region.
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Asif → accord → region
Meanwhile, Turkiye’s foreign minister met his Saudi counterpart on the margins of the trilateral moot.
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minister → meet → moot
Fidan had already held a meeting with Dar on Sunday.
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Fidan → hold → Sunday
Both the deputy premier and the army chief, had arrived in Turkiye a day earlier.
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premier → arrive → Turkiye
