Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan to sign joint defence deal amid regional turmoil

Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan are set to sign a joint defence agreement on Friday, solidifying a growing alliance of major Sunni Muslim powers in the region.

By Ariba Shahid KARACHI/RIYADH, Aug 7 - Turkey, Saudi Arabia ‌and Pakistan will sign a joint defence agreement on Friday, regional sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, at a time of regional turmoil with Gulf states coming under fire from Iran ‌after it was attacked by the U.S. and Israel.

While the pact further cements a ‌burgeoning grouping of major Sunni Muslim powers, there was no immediate clarity on each state's commitments. A Turkish official confirmed the agreement will be signed. Turkey is a member of NATO. Saudi Arabia, another U.S. ally, is one of the ⁠world's ​top oil exporters and ⁠the strongest Gulf state, while Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim country.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister ⁠Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by powerful army chief Asim Munir, will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ​in Jeddah for the signing. The pact follows nearly a year of negotiations, reported by Reuters in ⁠January, and as the Iran war exposes Gulf states' security vulnerabilities and disrupts the shipping of oil and other ⁠key ​goods through the Strait of Hormuz. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in January said that Ankara favoured a broader regional security platform to promote cooperation and stability.

An existing Saudi-Pakistani pact treats ⁠an attack on either as an attack on both and encompasses "all military means", a Saudi official ⁠previously told Reuters. The Pakistani ⁠military and government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Saudi Arabia's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (By Ariba Shahid, ‌Timour Azhari, ‌Daren Butler and Maha El-Dahan; Editing by Angus ​McDowall and Sharon Singleton)