Pakistan-Saudi-Türkiye defence deal in the works 

Saudi Arabia, nuclear-armed Pakistan, and Türkiye have drawn up a security agreement, Pakistan’s defence production minister Raza Hayat Harraj has said. 

The draft defence agreement has been prepared after 10 months of talks, the minister told Reuters. 

The potential deal between the three countries is distinct from the bilateral security pact signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last September. 

A final consensus between the three nations is needed to complete the deal, Harraj said. The draft agreement is available with the three countries who are currently deliberating. 

There is need for broader regional cooperation and trust to overcome distrust, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said at a press conference in Istanbul. 

Regional issues could be resolved if relevant countries would “be sure of each other,” he added.

“At the moment, there are meetings, talks, but we have not signed any agreement. Our President’s vision is for an inclusive platform that creates wider, bigger cooperation and stability,” Fidan said, without naming Pakistan or Saudi Arabia directly.

A Bloomberg report also said that Turkiye was seeking to join the Pak-Saudi defence pact signed last year. 

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).

Pakistan’s military ranks as the 12th most powerful in the world this year, out of a list of 145 countries gauged on military strength, according to Global Firepower Ranking.

It trails India (4th) and Türkiye (9th), and lies ahead of Saudi Arabia (24th) and the UAE (54th). The country beefed up its defence spending to $9 billion for the fiscal year 2025-26, up 20% year-on-year.