The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan marks an important development in the structure of regional security- not only for the three countries' military capabilities, but for their political and economic weight, their geographic positions, and their reach across multiple circles of the Islamic world.
Riyadh, Ankara, and Islamabad are not merely three capitals with substantial defensive power. They are three different models with a shared interest in stabilizing the region and curbing disorder- an interest that also runs through the security of the Gulf, the Red Sea, the eastern Mediterranean, and South Asia. Each commands a wide network of relationships and regional and international influence, and each keeps a different pattern of ties with the major powers. A single shared position therefore gains both complementarity and greater force.
Although the agreement was signed only yesterday, what has emerged about it invites a reading in light of the three states' political weight. Its first source of importance is that it is not a reaction to the current crisis. Talks ran for roughly a year and predate the recent military developments, moving through deliberations on the nature of the defense commitments, the various sources of threat, the three states' international obligations, and the possible areas of integration among them. Perhaps its greatest strength is that it was prepared without haste and worked out in detail, in stages. It is the product of long-range strategic calculation, then- not a hurried answer to events in our combustible region, nor a reaction to the disorder it is suffering.
The agreement also draws strength from its diversity. The three states do not face the same challenges, nor do they operate in the same strategic environment- a source of strength rather than weakness, since it adds to the pact's value. Türkiye, for one, has considerable military experience and NATO membership, and in recent years it has built an advanced defense-industrial base in drones, electronic systems, missiles, and military platforms.
Pakistan, for its part, has a military establishment with long operational experience, significant strategic capabilities, and a growing defense industry.
Saudi Arabia, beyond its distinctive geographic position, its considerable standing, and the deep-rooted wisdom of three centuries of sound governance, combines economic and political weight with religious symbolism. It has a solid defense system that it has advanced in localization, defense technology, and the modernization of its armed forces. Here the very differences among the three experiences matter: they are an investment in each state's competitive advantages, and they show in the building of a more integrated system spanning training, manufacturing, the transfer of expertise and technology, planning, readiness, deterrence, and financing.
Saudi Arabia's balancing role stands out, since it is the thread connecting its various circles- the more so as the region's largest economic actor and the holder of a pioneering development project. Its membership in the Group of 20 and the centrality of its position in energy markets impose an approach to security that goes beyond protecting borders to protecting the very environment of regional stability on which trade, investment, supply chains, and maritime corridors depend. We saw part of the effect of that standing in its support for a number of countries after the disasters of the so-called "Arab Spring."
It goes without saying that the agreement neither nullifies nor competes with the three states' relations with the major powers. Türkiye will remain within its NATO commitments; Saudi Arabia will continue its broad strategic partnerships with the United States, China, Europe, and others; and Pakistan keeps its own multiple international ties. What is new is an added layer to this network: a shared regional capability that does not rest entirely on external security arrangements.
If it was once said that "the people of Makkah know its mountain passes best," this agreement- concluded in the most important spot on earth for 1.5 billion Muslims- confirms that the region's major, weighty states know their own security best, and are the well placed to build their stability in partnership with the world.
