Khaberni - Bloomberg said that Turkey is seeking to join the defense alliance between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, a step that could pave the way for a new security agreement that would redraw some power equations in the Middle East and its surroundings.
On Friday, the agency reported, citing unnamed informed sources, that talks with Ankara have reached an advanced stage, and that reaching an agreement is "very likely".
This move comes at a time when Turkey's interests increasingly intersect with both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in South Asia and the Middle East, and extend to Africa, while Ankara sees joining the alliance as a means to enhance its security and deterrence capabilities, amid a turbulent geopolitical environment and the challenges facing NATO.
If Turkey joins the defense alliance, it would reflect a new phase in military relations among the three countries, amidst growing efforts to deepen security and defense cooperation.
Riyadh and Ankara are working on developing their economic and military partnership. The Turkish Ministry of Defense mentioned that this week the two countries held their first-ever joint naval meeting in Ankara.
Turkey seeks to expand exports of its defense industry, and Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest arms importers, constitutes a major market for this direction. The two countries signed an agreement in 2023 for Saudi Arabia to purchase high-altitude drones from the Turkish company "Baykar".
The relations between Turkey and Pakistan are characterized by longstanding military robustness, as Ankara builds corvette ships for the Pakistani navy, as well as having upgraded dozens of "F-16" fighters.
Turkey already shares drone technology with both countries and seeks to include them in its fifth-generation fighter jet program "Can", as reported by Bloomberg earlier.
In September last year, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a strategic defense agreement, stating that "any attack" on one of the two countries is considered an attack on the other, in a form similar to Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, of which Turkey is the second largest military power after the United States.
