Qatar welcomes new Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani defense pact

Qatar on Tuesday welcomed the Mecca Mutual Defense Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan, saying it views positively any defense framework based on cooperation and good neighbor relations.

“We welcome any regional cooperation that strengthens security, stability and defense among the countries of the region,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told a weekly news conference in Doha.

“Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye are countries with which we have strategic relations and fraternal ties based on a shared destiny and common concerns,” he added.

“For the security of our region and the security of the world, we fully positively view any defense framework based on cooperation and good-neighborly relations,” Al-Ansari said.

He stressed that “regional security is a collective responsibility that requires regional coordination and cooperation.”

Last Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the pact in the holy city of Mecca.

The agreement is part of defense cooperation that does not target any country but seeks to strengthen commitments to preserving peace, stability, and prosperity at the regional and global levels, based on burden-sharing and a common understanding of security.

It aims to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack on any of the three countries would be considered an attack pm all three.

The agreement also includes defense arrangements under which the three countries will support one another's security, develop cooperation in the defense industry, and enhance military interoperability.