Saudi Arabia has called the chiefs of general staff of Türkiye and Pakistan to an urgent meeting. The agenda is expected to include the Houthi movement’s escalating missile and unmanned aerial vehicle attacks against Saudi Arabia and the support that could be provided to Riyadh.
The Ministry of National Defence announced that Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu will travel to Saudi Arabia on September 25 to attend the Mecca Defense Alliance Chiefs of General Staff Meeting.
The decision to hold the urgent meeting came after a meeting in New York between Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. The three ministers discussed support that could be provided to Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement and preparations for the chiefs of general staff to meet urgently.
The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in August stipulates that an attack against one of the parties will be considered an attack against all three countries. Following the agreement, the three countries held the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee in Istanbul on August 31.
Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia have intensified again in recent days. Saudi officials announced that six ballistic missiles launched toward Taif and Yanbu on September 24 were neutralized by air defense systems. The Houthis announced that they had carried out missile and drone attacks against targets in Riyadh and Yanbu.
The meeting in Saudi Arabia is expected to address military cooperation among the three countries and steps that could be taken under the existing defense agreement.
