Talks held on defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, broader regional trust needed: Turkish FM
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday that talks have been held on a possible defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, but no agreement has been signed.
Responding at a press conference in Istanbul to a question about whether there might be such an alliance, Fidan pointed to what he said was a need for broader regional cooperation and trust.
He added that regional issues could be resolved if the relevant countries would “be sure of each other”.
Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported last week that Turkiye was seeking to join the Pak-Saudi defence pact signed in September 2025.
The report said Turkiye viewed the pact “as a way of strengthening security and deterrents when there are questions over the reliability of the US, which has strong military ties with all three countries, and President Donald Trump’s commitment” to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato).
Saudi Arabia brings financial clout, Pakistan has nuclear capability, ballistic missiles and manpower, while Turkiye has the military experience and has developed a defence industry, Bloomberg quoted Nihat Ali Ozcan, a strategist with Ankara-based think tank TEPAV, as saying.
Asked about reports of Istanbul eyeing such a pact, Defence Production Minister Raza Hayat Harraj told BBC Urdu: “From a strategic point of view, Turkiye, China, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan are close friendly countries of Pakistan, and there is a close relationship with them in terms of strategic policy.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had signed a “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” in Riyadh, pledging that any attack on either nation would be treated as an act of aggression against both.
New era
Should Turkiye ink its membership in the alliance, it would underscore the new era in its relations with Saudi Arabia as well.
After turning the page on years of rancour, the countries are working to develop economic and defence cooperation. They held their first-ever naval meeting in Ankara this week, according to the Turkish defence ministry.
While they also share long-standing concern over Iran, they prefer engagement with Tehran rather than force. The Turks and Saudis also back a stable Syria and statehood for Palestinians.
With Turkiye, defence cooperation remains a key pillar of bilateral relations.
According to the 2023 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, Turkiye was Pakistan’s second-largest arms supplier, accounting for 11pc of its total arms imports.
Ankara is building corvette warships for the Pakistan Navy and has upgraded dozens of its F-16s.
