The “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement,” signed in Jeddah on August 7, 2026, between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Türkiye, and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, has emerged as a historic agreement that goes far beyond a mutual defense understanding initially reached among the three core countries and constitutes a precursor to a major alliance and integration process in the Islamic World.

In the joint statement issued regarding the agreement, it was stated that Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif signed the Mutual Defense Agreement, reflecting their shared will, based on the deep historical relations, longstanding bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity, common strategic interests, and established defense cooperation among the three states, to further strengthen their collective security, promote peace, security, and stability in the region and beyond, and jointly build a secure and prosperous future.

The agreement aims to strengthen collective deterrence against all forms of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the three states shall be considered an attack against all of them. The agreement also provides for the development of defense cooperation among the three states in all its dimensions.

In a post on his Nsosyal account, President Erdoğan, in addition to the statements contained in the joint declaration, stated: “The agreement, which also reaffirms the right of self-defense as defined in Article 51 of the UN Charter, does not target any country and is open to the participation of all brotherly countries that seek the peace, prosperity, and stability of our region. In line with the vision of regional ownership, Türkiye will resolutely continue its principled stance aimed at resolving conflicts and crises through dialogue and diplomacy on the basis of respect for international law.”

From a NATO-Like Alliance to an EU-Like Integration…

The emphasis in the agreement on the deep historical relations, longstanding bonds of brotherhood, and Islamic solidarity among the allied countries demonstrates that the alliance established will not remain limited to the military dimension. The agreement should be viewed as a harbinger of a much larger partnership encompassing political, economic, and cultural spheres among the founding countries of the alliance and the countries that will subsequently join it. Indeed, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who appeared as a guest on Anadolu Agency’s Editors’ Desk on August 8, explained the necessity of first establishing a defense alliance in the region by drawing on the experience of the European Union. He stated that European states that had fought one another during World War II (approximately 35 European states participated, and around 45 million Europeans died) came together after the war in an atmosphere provided by the American security umbrella and first established the European Economic Community (EEC), which subsequently evolved and paved the way for major economic and social integration such as the European Union (EU).

According to Fidan, since the greatest problem in the Middle East is mutual wars, insecurity, and conflicts, regional ownership needs to begin with a security architecture, as Europe did.

From an Idea to a Concept, from a Concept to an Agreement

Speaking to Anadolu Agency’s Editors’ Desk, Hakan Fidan emphasized that the Mecca Agreement was not a conjunctural agreement signed in response to current developments, noting that work on the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement had been underway for exactly two years and eight months, and that during this process, the parties had moved from the level of an idea to a concept, and from a concept to an agreement.

The idea and conceptual dimension of the agreement is based on the understanding of “Regional Ownership.” As we have emphasized in our articles since 2024 (See our articles listed under Sources), President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan have for several years stated that the problems of the region should be resolved by institutions established by the countries of the region on the basis of the principle of regional ownership, without the need for hegemonic powers coming from outside.

Approximately 1.5 years before the signing of the Mecca Agreement, on December 16, 2024, in an extensive interview with Saudi Arabia-based Al Hadath television, Hakan Fidan explained the alliance vision with the words: “We are all related to one another, we are all Muslims, we all belong to the same religion. It is possible to come together and, with great maturity and professionalism, define our interests, our desires, and our sensitivities and do with one another what alliances are established to do in Europe, North America, and elsewhere—economic, political, military; all of these are possible in this geography as well.” He had expressed the intellectual foundation of an integration process that would lead to the Mecca Agreement and extend beyond the military dimension with the following statement: “We need to jointly implement a new understanding and a new vision in the region in the new period, especially in very close cooperation with Saudi Arabia and in cooperation with other brotherly countries.”

In his latest interview with AA, Hakan Fidan stated that the countries of the region need to move toward more institutionalized structures in which they........

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