Mecca defence pact committee to meet in Riyadh on Monday, Turkey says
Turkey's foreign ministry says the strategic political and defence committee of the Mecca defence pact will meet in Riyadh on Monday, with Turkish ministers joining Saudi and Pakistani officials to discuss regional developments and the alliance's institutionalisation.
A committee of the Mecca defence pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will hold talks in Riyadh on Monday, with Turkish ministers among those attending, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Sunday.
The meeting of the pact’s strategic political and defence committee will bring together Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and chief of the general staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, alongside officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.
“The meeting will address recent developments in the region and the stage reached in the Alliance’s institutionalisation efforts,” the Turkish statement said.
The gathering comes as the alliance faces its first major test. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government announced on Sunday the beginning of a major military operation against the Iran-backed Houthis, aimed at seizing territory under their control.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said on Friday that Iran had suggested engaging Yemen’s Houthis politically after attacks by the group, an idea that the Mecca defence pact committee would discuss at the Riyadh meeting.
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