Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have agreed to establish a permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia for coordinationof the Mecca Common Defense Agreement, signed at the beginning of August.
The decision was announced on Monday, following a meeting held in Istanbul between representatives of the three states, according to Reuters, cited by Agerpres.
According to a joint statement, the new structure will be headquartered in Saudi Arabia and will be led, in the first three years of operation, by a secretary general from Pakistan.
Through this endeavor, the three countries aim to strengthen military cooperation and increase the interoperability of the armed forces.
Representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have also agreed to work towards strengthening collective defense capabilities and cohesion among the armies of the three states.
The three great powers laid the foundations of a “NATO” for the Muslim world at the beginning of the month.
The Mecca Common Defense Agreement, signed at the beginning of August, has the declared objective of strengthening collective deterrence in the face of any act of aggression. The document stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three countries will be considered an attack against all.
The Secretariat, upon which the signatory countries have agreed, represents the first concrete step towards the implementation of the agreement and the coordination of future defense cooperation initiatives between Riyadh, Ankara, and Islamabad.