Mecca Agreement": What military commitments does Turkey undertake? The Turkish parliament approved the first section of the bill on the ratification of the Makkah Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. It determines the approval of the convention as a whole, including provisions on collective defense. However, the ratification process has not yet ended - the law has yet to enter into force and be implemented by the Turkish president. The agreement itself, which was signed on August 7, consists of 16 articles and stipulates the creation of a mechanism for the collective defense of three countries. The principle of collective defense The second article of the agreement states that an armed attack on one participant will be considered an attack on all three.
Essentially, we are talking about a mechanism reminiscent of Article 5 of NATO. However, military assistance does not automatically mean sending troops: the parties will independently determine its scope, taking into account the nature of the threat and the available capabilities. For Ankara, this is a significant expansion of commitments: Turkey receives new collective defense partnerships outside of NATO. Who will manage the union? The agreement provides for the establishment of a political and security strategic committee, which will include the ministers of foreign affairs, defense and the chiefs of general staff of the three countries. The permanent secretariat will be located in Saudi Arabia, and the first secretary general will be a representative of Pakistan. Separate provisions provide for intelligence exchange, joint exercises, weapons production and mutual logistics. The defense-industrial component is particularly interesting for Turkey: its factories receive additional opportunities for joint development and supply of military equipment. Why did the agreement cause controversy? The sixteenth article raises many questions, allowing the participants to withdraw from the agreement only after the first ten years of its validity, after notifying the partners at least three months in advance.