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Türkiye’s Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu met Friday with Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Saudi Chief of General Staff Gen. Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili in the Saudi capital, according to a statement from Türkiye’s General Staff. The three commanders gathered under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed in August to examine options for assisting Saudi Arabia after renewed assaults by Yemen’s Houthis that have targeted civilian and economic sites. Ankara released photographs of the officials in uniform following the session, which Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense described as focused on reviewing the current security situation and threats facing the kingdom.
The military consultations came one day after the three countries’ foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar addressed arrangements for the chiefs of staff meeting while condemning Houthi strikes on Mecca and other locations, according to the Saudi statement. The ministers affirmed Saudi Arabia’s right to self-defense in response to the attacks that have disrupted oil flows from the world’s largest energy exporter.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said the military chiefs agreed to deepen cooperation in military and intelligence matters while enhancing integration of defensive capabilities under the pact, which treats an attack on one signatory as an attack against all three. The agreement was signed last month by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with the aim of broadening defense ties across the three nations. A statement from the Saudi ministry added that the officials reaffirmed their commitment to collective defense and protecting the kingdom’s security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Yemen’s Houthis have escalated operations against Saudi Arabia since July, ending a years-long truce, declaring a maritime blockade and seizing control of the entire Red Sea coast in an effort to restrict Saudi oil exports, Al Jazeera reported. The group claimed on Thursday to have launched dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets, including a strike on a sensitive site in Riyadh and facilities in the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Saudi authorities stated that their air defenses intercepted six ballistic missiles aimed at areas including Taif and Yanbu, though independent verification of the competing accounts was not immediately available.
The foreign ministers’ discussions in New York also covered progress on establishing the pact’s permanent secretariat and associated committees, according to a statement from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Turkish officials have indicated that Ankara could provide technical assistance to meet Saudi military requirements while pushing for a cessation of hostilities, as noted in reporting by Turkish Minute. The pact’s first major test arrives as the Houthis continue operations tied to wider regional conflicts that have included strikes on infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority, Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan, issued a public appeal urging troops to defend the kingdom against the Iran-aligned group, describing it as a national duty, EFE news agency reported. The military chiefs praised the Saudi armed forces for their efforts to safeguard citizens, residents and national security during Friday’s session, the Saudi Ministry of Defense said in its readout. No details on specific outcomes or commitments beyond enhanced coordination were disclosed in statements from the participating countries.
