Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has welcomed US President Donald Trump’s support for the newly signed Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, as the three countries move to deepen collective security cooperation amid heightened regional tensions.
In a statement on August 17, Shehbaz thanked Trump for his remarks on the trilateral agreement and said Pakistan, alongside Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, would continue playing a constructive role in strengthening the defence of the three countries and contributing to wider regional security.
Trump had earlier welcomed the agreement on Truth Social, saying he was pleased to see the three countries formalise the pact. He described it as a major first step and said the agreement demonstrated how countries in the region were increasingly coming together to strengthen their ability to defend themselves.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed on August 7 by Shehbaz, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Under its central collective-defence provision, an armed attack against any one of the three signatories would be considered an attack against all three.
The framework also seeks to expand cooperation across defence and military affairs. Reporting on the agreement points to areas including military training, intelligence coordination, defence production and technology, potentially creating opportunities for deeper defence-industrial collaboration among the three states.
For Pakistan, the trilateral framework builds on longstanding security relationships with both Riyadh and Ankara. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement in 2025, while Islamabad and Ankara already cooperate across military training, naval activities and defence equipment.
Trump’s endorsement adds political significance to the agreement at a time when the security architecture of the Middle East is undergoing considerable change. It may also help counter perceptions that the trilateral framework is necessarily intended to function as a rival to Washington’s regional security relationships.
However, the distinction between political support and formal participation remains important. Trump’s comments amount to an endorsement of the agreement, not a US commitment to join it. No American security guarantee, troop commitment or formal role in the trilateral pact has been announced.
Attention will now shift toward how the agreement is implemented. Joint military exercises, defence procurement, intelligence coordination, troop deployments and defence-industry partnerships will provide clearer indications of how extensively the three countries intend to operationalise their new collective-security framework.
Shehbaz also stressed the importance of durable peace for the region’s future, framing stronger defence cooperation as part of a wider effort to promote stability rather than escalation.
