The signing of the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan has drawn global attention, prompting a range of views on its importance and strategic implications for the allied countries. Many commentators have sought to cast doubt on its usefulness or the possibility of its implementation in practice, as though it were intended to confront the ambitions and plans of certain states and should therefore be quashed before it can take effect, or as though it were sectarian in nature. Such arguments overlook the fact that this is a defensive alliance whose value would be questioned only by those harboring ill intentions toward these nonsectarian states or planning to target them in the future.
Forming alliances to address immediate or anticipated future security and military threats is a legitimate right of states under international law and a normal practice throughout the history of international diplomacy. Alliances can only be forged among responsible states whose strategic assessments converge on the nature of the threats to their security and stability, as well as to the security and stability of their geostrategic sphere.
The countries allied under the Makkah Agreement share such an assessment in light of the wars engulfing the region, the strategic vacuum these conflicts are expected to leave behind, the erosion of the balance of power and the end of the regional order that prevailed over past decades — an order tied to international protection of a region whose security and stability are a global need and necessity, not only because of its geoeconomic and geofinancial importance, but also because of its pivotal location and historical and political standing.
All three countries are geostrategically important, and their capabilities complement one another in restoring strategic balance to the region and filling any strategic vacuum left by its wars. Through their alliance, the three countries can become a major actor in confronting current and future threats to the region. Other countries that share the same objectives may also join the alliance.
Some interpretations that fail to grasp its strategic dimensions have suggested that the Kingdom’s importance and role in this alliance are linked to its financial capabilities and its desire to ensure its own security, reducing its role to these important considerations. Yet Saudi Arabia’s geostrategic importance is no less significant than that of the alliance’s other parties — if it does not, in fact, surpass them.
Others have argued that the Kingdom is constantly seeking a supporter to bolster its stability and security, as though such a pursuit were unique to Saudi Arabia when, in fact, all countries do the same. Nevertheless, the Kingdom’s position on the international geopolitical map has made it a destination for countries seeking its support and backing. Saudi Arabia’s geostrategic standing derives from its strategic geographical location, its central religious role, its oil resources, financial strength, moderate policies, diplomatic role, international relationships and military capabilities.
Saudi Arabia’s strategic geographical location, encompassing most of the Arabian Peninsula, connects three major regions: the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The Kingdom has coastlines on both the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, placing it close to some of the world’s most important maritime trade and energy routes and enabling it to influence the strategic environment of both vital regions and serve as a stabilizing force in each. From this position, Saudi Arabia influences global energy markets, maritime security, the balance of power in the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East, and relations among the major powers.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz underscored the importance of the Kingdom’s position on the Red Sea, as well as the readiness of its ports and infrastructure to provide an alternative route for energy supplies and serve as a logistics hub for global supply and distribution chains.
Oil is among Saudi Arabia’s most important strategic assets. The Kingdom possesses one of the world’s largest proven oil reserves and has consistently ranked among the leading producers and exporters within OPEC. It has substantial spare production capacity, allowing it to increase or reduce output more rapidly than many of its competitors. This capacity gives Riyadh exceptional influence over global oil supplies and prices, as Saudi production decisions can affect inflation, transportation costs, government revenues and economic growth in both developed and developing countries.
Saudi Arabia is therefore not merely an oil exporter, but a major participant in managing the global energy market. Today, it is also building part of its geopolitical importance on its success, through Vision 2030, in transforming its oil-based wealth into lasting economic, technological and institutional influence, while expanding into other economic sectors, including investment, tourism, entertainment, logistics, manufacturing, mining, renewable and nuclear energy, defense production and other important industries.
If strategic location and oil resources are important geostrategic and geopolitical factors, the Kingdom’s religious standing is no less significant. Saudi Arabia is home to the direction of Muslim prayer and Islam’s two holiest cities, toward which the hearts of millions of Muslims around the world are drawn each year to perform the religious duties of Hajj and Umrah and to visit the holy sites. This gives the Kingdom an international standing possessed by no other country. Organizing, administering and protecting these holy places — an honor bestowed upon the Kingdom and a duty it bears — has enabled Saudi Arabia to build extensive and deeply rooted relationships with governments, societies and Islamic organizations across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The Kingdom’s religious standing further enables it to serve as an influential Islamic voice by virtue of its status as an Arab power, an Islamic center, a major energy producer, a strong economy and an active member of international and regional organizations, including the Group of 20, comprising the world’s leading economies. Few countries possess such overlapping sources of influence, standing and international reach across so many levels.
At the same time that Saudi Arabia maintains a strategic relationship with the United States, historically and today, it also has multifaceted strategic partnerships with China, Russia, the European Union and the majority of the world’s countries, with the exception of the Zionist entity. These relationships are built on common interests and mutual benefits in ways that serve the Kingdom’s security, the stability of its region and its vital sphere.
Saudi Arabia manages its international relations and diplomacy with wisdom, coupled with confidence and credibility. It works to resolve conflicts and wars in the region and employs its diplomacy to uphold Palestinian rights and find ways out of the predicaments created by the wars imposed on the region. This approach has made Saudi Arabia an important strategic actor in a turbulent international system that is moving increasingly toward multipolarity.
Whatever the extent of the Kingdom’s strategic importance, it is moving confidently toward the future and harnessing the sources of that importance to build its own strength. The alliance is but an added value in achieving its security and stability and ensuring the success of its ambitious plans for a safe and stable region.
