Turkey is in talks to become part of a Saudi Arabia–Pakistan security arrangement that resembles NATO's collective defence framework, Bloomberg reported. The proposed pact echoes NATO's Article 5, stating that “any aggression” against one member would be treated as an attack on all.
Originally concluded between Riyadh and Islamabad, the agreement has now progressed significantly with Ankara. Under the emerging division of roles, Saudi Arabia would provide financial backing, Pakistan would contribute its nuclear deterrent, ballistic missile capability and manpower, while Turkey would add military expertise and a homegrown defence industry, said Nihat Ali Ozcan, a strategist at the Ankara-based think tank TEPAV.
“As the US prioritises its own interests and that of Israel in the region, changing dynamics and fallout from regional conflicts are prompting countries to develop new mechanisms to identify friends and foes,” Ozcan said.
People familiar with the matter said an expanded alliance is a logical step as Turkey's strategic interests increasingly converge with those of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan across South Asia, the Middle East and parts of Africa.
The three countries have already begun closer coordination. According to Turkey's Defence Ministry, they held their first-ever naval meeting in Ankara earlier this week.
The potential expansion carries added weight because Turkey is not just another regional actor. It is a long-standing member of the US-led NATO alliance and fields the second-largest military within NATO after the United States.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey also share enduring concerns about Shiite-majority Iran, though both favour engagement with Tehran over military confrontation. They are aligned in supporting a stable, Sunni-led Syria and advocating Palestinian statehood.
Turkey's defence ties with Pakistan, meanwhile, are well established. Ankara is constructing corvette warships for the Pakistani navy, has modernised dozens of Pakistan's F-16 fighter jets, and is already sharing drone technology with both Riyadh and Islamabad. Turkey has also invited them to participate in its Kaan fifth-generation fighter jet programme, Bloomberg previously reported.
These trilateral defence discussions follow a ceasefire between India and Pakistan that brought an end to a four-day military standoff between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in May. During that brief conflict, known as Operation Sindoor in May 2025, Turkey took a visible role in backing Islamabad.
