ANKARA: Türkiye’s Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said on Friday that the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan could eventually develop into a broader security pact for the Muslim world, potentially including Iran.
The regional powers signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August. The agreement includes a provision similar to NATO’s Article 5, under which an attack on one signatory is treated as an attack on all members.
Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Kurtulmuş said the agreement still requires parliamentary approval before it can formally enter into force.
He said preparatory meetings were currently being held among the participating countries and expected the agreement to come before the Turkish parliament after it returns from recess in October.
Asked whether the pact was directed against Iran, Kurtulmuş said Türkiye did not view the agreement as targeting any particular country.
He said the primary objective was to strengthen the security of regional states amid ongoing conflicts and what he described as Israel’s “hostile policies.”
“We never see the Makkah Agreement as a pact against Iran,” Kurtulmuş said, adding that Iran could potentially join the agreement.
He expressed hope that the initiative could evolve into a broader agreement involving other Muslim and regional countries, saying wider participation could strengthen the arrangement.
Türkiye has previously indicated that it could assist Saudi Arabia in meeting its military requirements, particularly in technical areas.
However, Turkish officials have said that any assistance at this stage would largely remain bilateral because the joint defence agreement has not yet been ratified.
Meanwhile, the military chiefs of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are expected to meet to discuss measures to support Riyadh’s defence requirements.