Turkiye seeks to join Saudi-Pakistani defence alliance: Report
World
Turkiye is in advanced talks to join the Saudi-Pakistan defence pact, potentially forming a new Middle Eastern military bloc. The alliance aims to strengthen security amid shifting global dynamics.
NEW YORK (APP) - Turkiye is seeking to join a defence pact between Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan, a potential move that could create a new military bloc in the Middle East, Bloomberg News Service reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Bloomberg said the talks between Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are at an “advanced stage and a deal is very likely”.
The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia treats an attack on either nation as an act of aggression against both.
“The expanded alliance would make sense because Turkiye’s interests increasingly overlap with those of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in South Asia, the Middle East and even Africa,” the report read.
“Turkiye also sees 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 NATO.”
The report noted Riyadh’s financial clout and Islamabad’s nuclear capability, ballistic missiles, and manpower, with Turkiye offering military experience and a developed defence industry, according to Nihat Ali Ozcan, a strategist with the Ankara-based think tank TEPAV.
“As the US prioritizes its own interests and that of Israel in the region, changing dynamics and fallout from regional conflicts are prompting countries to develop new mechanisms to identify friends and foes,” Ozcan was quoted as saying,
According to Bloomberg, Turkiye’s joining the alliance would underscore a new era in relations with Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan and Turkiye have longstanding military relations, with both countries cooperating on a number of defence projects.
Ankara is supplying Pakistan’s Navy with corvette warships and has upgraded numerous F-16 fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force, it said.
Turkiye, which currently shares drone technology with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, is also looking to involve both countries in its Kaan fifth-generation fighter jet programme, according to the report
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the landmark SMDA on September 17, 2025, during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia.
PM Shehbaz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman inked the pact in Riyadh, further strengthening the decades-old security partnership.
Weeks after the signing of the pact, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that more nations wanted to sign a similar agreement with Islamabad.
“Our defence pact with Saudi Arabia is significant. More countries now want to sign a similar agreement with us,” he said while speaking during a National Assembly session on October 3, 2025.
Stressing the significance of the pact, DPM Dar said that several Arab and Muslim nations expressed their wish to sign such an agreement with Pakistan.
