Türkiye submits Mecca pact to parliament

ANKARA

The Turkish government has submitted the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, a trilateral pact between Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, to parliament for ratification.

The three countries signed the agreement on Aug. 7. According to the Turkish constitution, the agreement must be ratified by the parliament. A simple majority is sufficient to obtain the necessary parliamentary confirmation.

The agreement will first go to the Foreign Affairs Commission and later to be taken to the General Assembly. It is not known when the commission will begin discussing the agreement.

The agreement contains 16 articles, according to the text submitted to the parliament.

Under the agreement, a threat to the territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognized borders of any signatory would require the parties to use all necessary means to eliminate the threat or danger.

An externally originating armed attack against any of the three countries would be considered an attack against all parties. If one country faces an armed attack or military aggression by another country or group of countries, the others would be required to provide immediate assistance, making full use of the means of mutual assistance available to them.

The pact also commits the signatories to strengthening existing cooperation and joint efforts, including at the operational level, to combat terrorism in all its forms.

On defense industry cooperation, the agreement calls for technology sharing among defense industry institutions, joint technology development and production and closer cooperation among defense industry organizations to strengthen the parties’ military capabilities.

The move came after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled that the parliament will first ratify the agreement for Türkiye to consider supplying military support to Saudi Arabia in its conflict with Iran-backed Houthi groups in Yemen.

The Defense Ministry also stressed the need for parliamentary authorization.

“Within the scope of the Mecca Defense Alliance, the process regarding the military forces and capabilities that can be provided by Türkiye to Saudi Arabia will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of our Constitution and relevant legislation,” the ministry said in a statement last week.

In this frame, the parliament will have to issue an authorization for the deployment of Turkish troops to Saudi Arabia after the agreement is already ratified.

Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the members of the Mecca pact, had discussed the recent escalation in the region following the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s critical infrastructure and ways to provide support to increase the defensive capacity of the country.

Türkiye has expressed its strong solidarity with Saudi Arabia and condemned the Houthis. It also asked the Houthi groups to cease their attacks that target Saudi Arabia’s critical energy and civilian infrastructure and sacred sites in the kingdom.

Türkiye also expressed its concerns over the spread of the conflict to the Red Sea which can seriously disrupt maritime safety.

Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan are in regular contacts with their Saudi counterparts. They have already declared Türkiye’s intentions to supply defensive logistical and technical support to Saudi Arabia.