Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Istanbul on Monday on the sidelines of the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.

The meeting brought together senior foreign and defence officials from Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as the three countries moved to put their newly signed defence agreement into practice. The first committee meeting is being held in Istanbul on August 31, with Türkiye represented by Foreign Minister Fidan, National Defence Minister Yaşar Güler and Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu.

Fidan and Faisal are expected to have exchanged views on bilateral relations as well as regional and international security developments. Their discussions come amid heightened security concerns across the Middle East and growing efforts by regional countries to strengthen coordination and develop more independent mechanisms for maintaining security and stability.

The Strategic Political and Defence Committee is designed to provide strategic direction for cooperation under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, which was signed by Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in Makkah on August 7. The agreement establishes a collective defence framework under which an armed attack against one of the three countries is to be regarded as an attack against all three.

The Istanbul meeting is expected to focus on strengthening coordination between the three countries' armed forces, improving defence capabilities and expanding cooperation in the defence industry. Joint production, research and development, defence technologies and greater interoperability between the militaries are among the issues expected to feature prominently on the agenda.

Counterterrorism cooperation and intelligence-sharing are also expected to form part of the discussions, alongside broader regional and international security issues.

The three countries are also expected to work on establishing a permanent secretariat and other institutional mechanisms to coordinate projects and activities arising from the agreement. Officials are expected to develop a roadmap outlining priorities and practical steps for cooperation in the coming period.

The agreement has been presented by Turkish officials as a defensive arrangement rather than an alliance directed against a particular country. Foreign Minister Fidan previously stressed that the pact was not aimed at Iran or any other specific state, while emphasizing that it was intended to strengthen regional security and deterrence.

The participation of the foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs of all three countries gives the Istanbul meeting particular significance, marking the first formal step toward implementing the Makkah agreement and translating its political commitments into concrete defence and security cooperation. (ILKHA)