ISTANBUL: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Istanbul, where the two sides stressed the need to intensify efforts to enhance security and stability across the region.
During the meeting, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, they reviewed bilateral ties and ways to strengthen them to serve their common interests, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Monday.
#Istanbul | Foreign Minister HH Prince @FaisalbinFarhan met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye @HakanFidan on the sidelines of the meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. pic.twitter.com/6Duz976NRx
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) August 31, 2026
On August 7, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three countries would be regarded as an attack on all.
The agreement was signed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence, held at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah.
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The significance of the pact can be gauged from the fact that several other countries have also expressed their willingness to join it.
During the visit, President Erdogan met Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to review Saudi-Turkish relations, ways to strengthen cooperation, and regional developments.
Earlier this week, Bangladesh also expressed its willingness to join the pact, with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman telling parliament that the country would “positively” consider an invitation from the founding members of the Makkah pact to join the alliance.
