India closely monitoring defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey
India's response comes after Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement during a summit in Makkah on Friday, marking a new framework for defence cooperation among the three countries
India on Friday said it was closely monitoring the newly signed trilateral defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, under which the three countries have agreed that any armed attack against one of them would be treated as an attack against all.
Responding to a question at the weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi was keeping a close watch on the development.
"Regarding your question about the trilateral pact, this is a development we are monitoring closely, and we will keep you updated," Jaiswal said.
The response came after Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement during a summit in Makkah on Friday, marking a new framework for defence cooperation among the three countries.
The agreement was signed by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
According to the joint statement issued after the summit, the pact is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against aggression and enhance defence cooperation among the three countries. It states that an armed attack against any one of the three signatories would be regarded as an attack against all.
The leaders said the agreement was based on their "shared strategic interests", longstanding defence cooperation and historical ties, while describing it as a step towards strengthening regional security and stability.
The development comes amid increasing defence cooperation between Pakistan and Türkiye, including Ankara's military exports and strategic engagement with Islamabad, while Saudi Arabia has been seeking deeper security partnerships as part of its wider regional outreach.
New Delhi's brief response indicated that it was assessing the implications of the emerging security arrangement, though the MEA did not offer any immediate assessment of its impact on India's strategic interests.
Notably, last year as well, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had signed a landmark defense agreement committing both nations to regard any act of aggression against one as an attack on both.
