Key facts
- Turkey plans to send military personnel to Saudi Arabia under a joint defense pact.
- The mandate will be submitted to parliament for approval.
- The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan in August.
Turkey is preparing to deploy military personnel to Saudi Arabia as part of a joint defense agreement with the Kingdom and Pakistan. A lawmaker from the ruling AK Party stated that a mandate for this deployment will be submitted to parliament for approval once the ratification of the accord is complete.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed by the three nations in August, was submitted to Turkey's parliament for ratification on Tuesday. This move brings NATO's second-largest army closer to a formal mutual defense pledge with Riyadh amid ongoing Houthi attacks in the region.