Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is in Makkah for a one-day working visit, met on Friday with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman at al-Safa Palace.

The meeting forms part of Erdoğan’s brief trip to Saudi Arabia, which began with his arrival in Jeddah earlier in the day. He was welcomed at King Abdulaziz International Airport before traveling by road to the holy city of Makkah. The encounter with the Crown Prince comes against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions, including threats to shipping in the Red Sea and broader Middle East instability.

Erdoğan is also expected to hold talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who arrived in the Kingdom a day earlier accompanied by Pakistan’s military leadership. Reports indicate the three leaders are focusing on regional security, maritime threats, defense cooperation, and efforts to promote stability amid ongoing conflicts involving Iran and disruptions in key waterways such as the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.

Sources close to the matter have said the visit is expected to culminate in the signing of a joint defense agreement—referred to in some reports as the “Makkah Joint Defence Agreement”—between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. The pact aims to strengthen collective deterrence and military coordination among the three countries, building on existing bilateral defense ties. Details of specific commitments have not been fully disclosed by official channels at the time of the initial meeting announcement.

The gathering follows a recent phone conversation on August 3 between Erdoğan and the Crown Prince, in which the Turkish leader expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia over attacks targeting the Kingdom, reaffirmed support for lasting regional peace and stability, and stressed the need for full compliance with the roadmap for the second phase of the Gaza Peace Plan.

This is Erdoğan’s second high-level engagement with Saudi leadership in 2026, after an official visit to Riyadh in February during which the two sides discussed deepening cooperation in energy, defense, investment, and regional issues, including Syria’s reconstruction. Bilateral relations between Ankara and Riyadh have strengthened significantly in recent years through high-level visits, trade growth, and defense industry partnerships.

Further details from the closed-door discussions and any formal outcomes of the trilateral meetings are expected to be released by the respective governments in the coming hours. (ILKHA)