Turkiye's parliament has ratified the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, a pact that treats an armed attack on any one signatory as an attack on all three. Lawmakers approved the bill on Thursday, 5 November, by 279 votes to 119, with 398 of the chamber's 592 members taking part in the vote.

The agreement was signed in Mecca on 7 August by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It contains 16 articles covering collective defence, intelligence sharing, military cooperation and defence-industry ties.

Attack on one is an attack on all

Under Article 1 of the accord, the signatories shall use "all necessary means" to eliminate threats to one another's territorial integrity, and the article can be invoked in case of an attack on any member state. Article 2 says that if one party is subjected to an armed attack or military aggression, the others "shall immediately provide assistance to the party under attack, utilising the full range of mutual assistance measures available to them". The clause mirrors Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

Ten-year commitment

The draft approved by Turkish lawmakers commits member countries to the pact for 10 years, after which they may withdraw. It also leaves open the possibility of other countries joining, with the approval of the existing members; Syria's government has already expressed interest. Reports say the pact sets up formal institutions, with the secretariat in Saudi Arabia and retired Pakistani General Nauman Mahmood as the first secretary-general for a three-year term.

Troops still need a separate vote

Despite Thursday's ratification, it is not a foregone conclusion that Turkish troops would be deployed to Saudi Arabia amid the Houthi attacks. Turkish officials have said deploying troops abroad would need a separate parliamentary mandate, and Defence Minister Yasar Guler said in October that the scope of potential support would be determined after ratification. Turkish media reported him as saying the country did "absolutely not foresee entering into any conflict with the Houthis", and that support "would be to strengthen deterrence".

What happens next

Pakistan had already approved the agreement. In Turkiye, ratification by the president and publication of the law in the Official Gazette are the next steps before the pact formally enters into force. The ratification comes as Riyadh continues to face attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, who have escalated strikes on Saudi Arabia in recent months.