Madar (International) - Turkey's parliament on Thursday evening, November 5, 2026, approved a bill ratifying the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia by 279 votes to 119, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
The 16-article agreement provides that an armed attack on any signatory is considered an attack on all three, and covers military cooperation, intelligence sharing, collective deterrence and defence industry cooperation, according to the agency. The three countries signed it in Mecca on August 7, and the Turkish government submitted it to parliament in October.
The three-article bill approves the agreement, makes it effective upon publication in the Official Gazette and assigns its implementation to the president. The collective-defence clause does not automatically trigger a deployment: any assistance is decided through consultations and each country's legal procedures, and sending Turkish troops abroad requires separate parliamentary approval, Xinhua said.
A total of 398 lawmakers took part in the vote, according to Turkiye Today. Ruling AK Party lawmaker Ziya Altunyaldiz said the agreement "was not directed against any third country" and aimed to prevent conflicts rather than escalate them, while opposition CHP lawmaker Mehmet Guzelmansur called for clear rules so that it does not conflict with Turkey's other international obligations.
Writing in the November issue of Anadolu Agency's AA Briefing magazine, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the alliance aims to strengthen regional deterrence and stability under a vision of "regional solutions to regional problems", adding that other countries in the region sharing that vision could join, Turkiye Today reported.
The ratification comes as Saudi Arabia faces repeated Houthi attacks on cities, oil facilities and shipping since fighting in Yemen intensified again in July, according to The New Arab.
