Turkish parliament speaker expects Pakistan, Saudi Arabia defence pact to be submitted for approval next month

A ​joint defence ​pact between Turkey, Saudi ‌Arabia, and ​Pakistan has not yet been submitted to the ‌Turkey's parliament for approval, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus said on Friday, adding he expected ‌the agreement to be formally submitted when ‌parliament returns from recess next month. The regional powers signed the "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement" in August, weeks ⁠before ​Yemen's ⁠Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks against Saudi Arabia amid the ⁠war in Iran. Similar to NATO's Article 5, ​the pact stipulates that an attack on ⁠one ally constitutes an attack on all.

"For ⁠international ​agreements to come into effect, parliamentary approval is needed. The meetings held ⁠as part of the agreement at the moment ⁠are ⁠preparatory meetings," Kurtulmus told reporters in Ankara.