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The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement is a regional mutual defence pact signed roughly a month before September 2026 between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey, now being tested by escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and military sites (SCMP, September 26). ## Overview Following renewed Houthi attacks against the kingdom, military chiefs of the three parties held a hastily convened meeting in Riyadh, reaffirming their commitment to collective defence, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SCMP, September 26). The talks reportedly focused on "intelligence cooperation" among the signatories (SCMP, September 26). ## Strategic Context The pact represents a significant regional security realignment bringing together Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey under a mutual defence framework, and its durability is now being tested in real time by the Houthi threat emanating from Yemen. The emergency meeting suggests the agreement's practical mechanisms — beyond symbolic commitments — are still being worked out under live pressure. ## Why This Matters This pact sits at the center of a broader realignment of Middle East security architecture, with Pakistan and Turkey extending military commitments into Gulf security for the first time in this form. Its ability to translate rhetoric into concrete action against Houthi attacks will be a bellwether for the credibility of Gulf-adjacent mutual defense frameworks, and for the broader "Middle East New Power Brokers" alignment involving Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.