New Countries May Join Mecca Agreement — Pakistani Ambassador to Russia
Aerial view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik) — New countries may join the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed by Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia, Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Faisal Niaz Tirmizi told Sputnik in an interview. «So, of course, there is a possibility that other countries will join it and they will be part of this security architecture,» Tirmizi said on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) held in Vladivostok in early September. The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkiye on August 7. It provides for the strengthening of collective deterrence, with an armed attack on one of the participants to be regarded as an attack against them all. The agreement also envisages the expansion of military cooperation, coordination, as well as joint projects in the defense industry.
