Turkish, Saudi and Pakistani ministers gather in Riyadh on Monday for the Mecca defence pact's strategic committee session, with Yemen and wider regional tensions on the agenda.
A committee of the Mecca defence pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is holding talks in Riyadh on Monday, with Turkish ministers among those attending, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Sunday.
According to Reuters, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and chief of the general staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu are attending the meeting of the pact’s strategic political and defence committee, along with officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
“The meeting will address recent developments in the region and the stage reached in the Alliance’s institutionalisation efforts,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
<h2>Yemen and Iran on the agenda</h2> The talks come a day after the leader of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government announced the beginning of a major military operation against the Iran-backed Houthis, aimed at seizing the 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 this week, according to Reuters.
The meeting underscores the deepening security coordination between the three countries as the wider regional confrontation surrounding Iran continues to spill over into Yemen and across vital shipping lanes.
The Riyadh meeting comes against the backdrop of a sharp escalation in Yemen. On Sunday, Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi announced the start of major military operations to retake territory held by the Iran-backed Houthis, saying all opportunities for de-escalation had been exhausted. Regional and western officials had told Reuters that Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies were planning an assault in which the Saudis would lead aerial combat and Yemeni forces would fight on the ground.
At the same time, the Houthis claimed they had launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco sites in Riyadh and the Khurais area. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia. The exchanges underline why the pact’s strategic political and defence committee is meeting now, as member states weigh both military and political tracks for the region’s overlapping crises.
The Turkish statement said the ministers would also review how far the alliance has progressed in building its permanent institutional framework.
Yemen's President Rashad al-Alimi announced the start of major military operations to retake Houthi-held territory, as the truce that held since 2022 collapses amid the wider regional confrontation.
By: hammadkhaksar
Middle East crude exports topped pre-war levels on four days in late September, Kpler data showed, even as at least seven tanker attacks were reported around the Strait of Hormuz.
By: hammadkhaksar
Nairobi: Seventeen people were killed and several others injured in a multi-vehicle collision in Kenya on Saturday, the country's National Transport and Safety Authority said. The crash happened in the Salama area, about 90 kilometres southeast of Nairobi, on the road linking the capital with the coastal city of Mombasa. A security source said the [...]
By: hammadkhaksarStay updated with the latest news, breaking developments, and insightful coverage from Azad Kashmir and Pakistan.
Follow on Facebook
