Turkey’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar and Indonesia had signed an agreement to expand cooperation in the defence industry and strengthen their defence capabilities.
According to British news agency Reuters, the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement that the agreement, signed in Doha, would support cooperation in military exercises and training, as well as research and development.
The statement said the agreement would help joint efforts to improve the defence industries of the four countries.
The detailed terms of the new agreement have not been disclosed.
Available information does not describe it as a mutual defence guarantee or a pact requiring military assistance in the event of an attack on any of the countries.
The development comes as regional countries explore new avenues for defence cooperation amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, attacks on Gulf countries, maritime security concerns in the Red Sea and questions surrounding the United States’ security role in the region.
Pakistan’s Existing Defence Agreements
Earlier, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a trilateral defence agreement in Makkah on August 7, 2026, known as the Makkah Mutual Defence Agreement.
Under a key provision of the agreement, an armed attack against any one member would be considered an attack against all three countries.
The Makkah agreement includes a provision for taking necessary measures to address threats to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and internationally recognised borders of the parties.
It also refers to intelligence sharing, defence industry cooperation, logistical support and counterterrorism cooperation.
The agreement leaves the nature and scope of assistance in the event of an attack to the respective countries.
Turkey submitted the Makkah defence agreement to its parliament for ratification on Tuesday.
Under the Turkish Constitution, parliamentary authorisation is required for deploying troops abroad.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had clarified that the agreement was not offensive in nature and was not intended to facilitate attacks on the territory of another country.
Before the trilateral Makkah agreement, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had also signed a bilateral mutual defence agreement in September 2025.
The agreement marked a significant step towards formalising the longstanding military and security cooperation between the two countries.
It was signed in Riyadh by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
According to the announcement of the agreement, aggression against either country would be considered aggression against both.
