Currently there are no plans to expand the Makkah Mutual Defence Agreement beyond the three founding members, a spokesperson of the Foreign Office said on Thursday.
Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye must first enhance the “inner structure and cooperation” of the alliance at the press briefing held at the Foreign Office in Islamabad on Tuesday.
Expansion of the pact was not on the cards at the moment, said Khan, who added that the three countries were still working on the structure, procedures and other mechanisms of the organisation.
His comments were in response to a question regarding Pakistan’s response under the agreement after the Houthis attacks on Saudi Arabia. There was no discussion on Pakistan’s military response under the pact, but Khan said that it would “act” when the time comes.
The spokesperson noted that the agreement can in future be extended to other countries which have similar stands and outlook, while pointing out that currently no discussion about it is under way.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed on August 7 by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. It stipulates that if a person attacks one member they will be considered as attacking all three.
Since then, the three countries have started the institutionalisation of the agreement. They met for the first time at their Strategic Political and Defence Committee (SPD) meeting in Istanbul on August 31, where they agreed to establish a permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia and boost cooperation in defence industries and technology and joint capabilities.
