Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agree to establish secretariat under joint defence pact

Aug 31 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to establish a secretariat in Saudi Arabia under their Mecca joint defence agreement, which will initially be headed by a Pakistani secretary-general for three years, the three countries said in a joint statement on Monday.

• The three countries’ representatives met in Istanbul on Monday.

• The countries will work to strengthen their collective defence capabilities and cohesion of their armed forces, the statement said.

• The “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement,” signed in early August, is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three would be regarded as an attack on all.

(Reporting by Yasmine Ghania and Menna Alaa El DinEditing by Tomasz Janowski)