Turkey's defense ministry confirmed Thursday that the "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement" signed August 7 by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will be underpinned by formal political and military coordination mechanisms, senior minister groupings, joint military exercises and deepened defense industry cooperation, giving what had been a broadly worded accord its operational teeth.
The three Sunni Muslim U.S. allies signed the agreement in Mecca a week ago as Iranian missile attacks continued striking Gulf oil exporters in the broader Middle East conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
The pact contains an Article 5-style clause stipulating that an armed attack against any member will be regarded as an attack on all. Turkey has NATO's second-largest army. Pakistan is nuclear-armed. Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter.
Turkey's defense ministry was careful to say the pact is "defensive in nature and does not designate any country as a common enemy or adversary," and that it is "not considered an alternative or rival to NATO."
The agreement is explicitly open to expansion, with Egypt mentioned as a potential candidate.
The formation of formal coordination structures is the key Thursday development the difference between a signed declaration and an alliance with actual institutions behind it.