Mecca defense pact committee to meet in Riyadh on Oct 5

ANKARA, Oct 4 — A strategic political and defense committee of the Mecca defense pact grouping Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan will hold high-level talks in Riyadh on Monday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday.

The ministerial meeting comes as Yemen’s Saudi-backed government launched a major military offensive earlier on Sunday aimed at reclaiming territory held by Iran-backed Houthi forces.

According to the Turkish statement, the committee will evaluate regional security developments alongside ongoing progress in formalizing the alliance’s institutional infrastructure.

Foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia at the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement meeting in Istanbul. — AL JAWF GOVERNORATE, YEMEN, SEPTEMBER 15, 2026 — Iran-aligned Houthi fighters move past a destroyed vehicle following an attack on Saudi-backed forces in Al Jawf governorate, Yemen, in this screengrab taken from a video released September 15, 2026. (Photo: Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS)

Houthi political dialogue on the agenda

Pakistan’s foreign minister noted on Friday that Iran had proposed opening political channels with Yemen’s Houthis following recent escalations—a proposal expected to be reviewed by committee members during the Riyadh sessions.

The Turkish delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, and Chief of the General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, meeting alongside top defense and diplomatic officials from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

The trio originally established the Joint Defence Agreement framework in Istanbul on August 31 to bolster trilateral security coordination across the Middle East and South Asia.

— The Malaysia Times

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