Mecca defense pact has sent ‘message of unity, peace throughout region’: Pakistan premier

The Mecca joint defense pact signed by Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan earlier this month “has sent a message of unity and peace throughout the region,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Friday, Anadolu reports.

Sharif made the remarks during a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, according to a statement from the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office.

Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement at a trilateral summit in Mecca on Aug. 7, pledging to strengthen collective security, deepen defense cooperation and promote peace and stability in the region and beyond.

The agreement was signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Sharif during the summit at Al-Safa Palace.

Sharif said the joint defense pact “brought the three countries even closer together and sent a message of unity and peace throughout the region.”

READ: Saudi Arabia says Mecca Agreement with Turkiye, Pakistan ‘long-term’ deal to boost cooperation

‘Any formal request will be considered’

Bangladesh has said it would consider joining the pact “positively” if invited by the three founding members.

“Joining the pact or not has not come yet as it is subjected to the intention of the parties involved in the pact. If they invite Bangladesh to join, then we will definitely consider it positively,” Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman told parliament Thursday.

Responding to statements from Dhaka, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi reiterated Thursday that the agreement “is a defensive framework aimed at safeguarding peace and promoting regional stability.”

“As an evolving security architecture, the (agreement) remains open to countries that share its commitments to collective obligations and common security interests,” Andrabi told reporters in Islamabad.

“Any formal request will be considered in consultation with our partners in Riyadh and Ankara. The operationalization of the (agreement), however, remains at an early stage,” he added.

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