Discussions between Ankara, Riyadh, and Islamabad have reached an “advanced stage,” with a strong likelihood of a formal agreement. If finalized, the pact would bring together three states with distinct yet complementary strategic assets.
Saudi Arabia would anchor the alliance economically and politically as the only Arab member of the G20 and a central actor in the Islamic world. Pakistan would contribute its status as the only Muslim-majority nuclear-armed state, along with its growing defense-industrial base. Turkey, meanwhile, would add operational experience as the second-largest military in NATO and a country deeply involved in multiple regional theaters.
In September 2025, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA), committing both sides to treat an attack on one as an attack on the other—an arrangement conceptually similar to NATO’s Article 5, though without NATO’s institutional depth. Turkey’s potential accession would significantly elevate the agreement’s strategic profile.