Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye have prepared a draft trilateral defense agreement after nearly a year of consultations, Pakistan’s Minister for Defense Production Raza Hayat Harraj confirmed, marking a potentially significant geopolitical development among the three Muslim-majority nations.
Harraj clarified that the proposed trilateral framework would be separate from the bilateral defense agreement signed between nuclear-armed Pakistan and oil-rich Saudi Arabia last year.
His remarks followed comments earlier in the day by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan acknowledging discussions among the three countries.
“The Pakistan–Saudi Arabia–Türkiye trilateral agreement is already in the pipeline,” Harraj told Reuters news service. “
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The draft agreement is available with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye, and all three countries have been deliberating on it for the past 10 months.” He added that final consensus among all sides was still required before the deal could be concluded.
The potential agreement could enhance the geopolitical standing of the three countries by allowing them to pool complementary strengths for greater regional influence.
Saudi Arabia brings financial and energy clout in the Middle East, Pakistan offers significant military capability and a growing defense production base, while Türkiye provides military experience, a modern defense industry, and strategic positioning between Europe and the Middle East.
Speaking earlier in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed that talks had taken place but stressed that no agreement had yet been signed. Without naming Pakistan or Saudi Arabia directly, he emphasized the need for broader regional cooperation to counter mistrust, instability, and external interference.
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“At the end of all this, we have a proposal: all regional nations must come together to create a cooperation platform on security,” Fidan said.
He warned that distrust often creates “cracks and problems” that lead to wars, terrorism, and external hegemonies. Fidan added that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan envisioned an inclusive regional platform aimed at promoting stability and cooperation.
Last week, Bloomberg reported—citing sources familiar with the matter—that Türkiye was seeking to join the Pakistan–Saudi defense pact signed in September 2025.
According to the report, Ankara views deeper defense cooperation as a way to strengthen deterrence amid concerns over the reliability of the United States and former President Donald Trump’s commitment to NATO.
Saudi Arabia contributes financial strength, Pakistan provides nuclear capability, ballistic missiles and manpower, while Türkiye brings military experience and a developed defense industry, Nihat Ali Özcan, a strategist at Ankara-based think tank TEPAV, told Bloomberg.
Commenting separately on reports of Türkiye’s interest, Harraj told BBC Urdu that Pakistan maintains close strategic relationships with several partners. “From a strategic point of view, Türkiye, China, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbaijan are close friends of Pakistan, and we share strong relationships with them in terms of strategic policy,” he said.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia formalized their defense cooperation last year when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement in Riyadh, pledging that any attack on one country would be treated as aggression against both.
Muhammad Luqman is Associate Editor at Views News Now. He writes on wide-ranging issues including economy, South Asia, the Middle East, agriculture, economy and innovation. Luqman has worked some of the leading news organizations and won acclaim for his original and research-based works.
