Saudi Arabia is in the midst of its most serious escalation with the Houthis since 2022. Yet its partners in the Mecca Accord aren’t rushing to help—and are now moving toward a new security agreement with two other Muslim nations, without Saudi involvement. Is this a calculated move or an accidental snub?
Qatari media reported Wednesday that Pakistan and Turkey are moving to strengthen their security partnership with Qatar and Indonesia. In doing so, the two Mecca Accord members have effectively “abandoned” Saudi Arabia, which is currently fighting the Houthis, and are heading toward signing a new defense deal without it.
1+According to the report, the memorandum will focus on joint production, technology transfer, strengthening interoperability, and integrating supply chains. In this context, Turkey’s Defense Ministry announced in a social media post that the Turkish defense minister arrived in Doha as part of preparations for signing the memorandum.
The report comes as Saudi Arabia has been fighting the Houthis for several weeks now—without significant help (if any) from its allies. A senior Pakistani official claimed that Pakistani jets participated in strikes in Yemen, a report that has not received official confirmation. Turkey, meanwhile, still hasn’t acted at all, with Erdoğan only last night submitting the activation of the Mecca Accord to the Turkish parliament for approval—a move that Arab media commentators say is designed to buy time.
1+It’s important to note that Saudi Arabia’s exclusion isn’t necessarily its allies dodging responsibility, but simply an understanding that it has little to contribute to the agreement. The Arab kingdom doesn’t manufacture weapons on the scale of Turkey and Pakistan and can’t contribute meaningfully to such a security partnership with Qatar and Indonesia. This may be why bin Salman is staying out this time.
If the agreement is officially signed, Qatar will become the third Gulf state to sign a defense pact with Pakistan in the past year. This follows the “Mecca Accord” with Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as well as an agreement it signed with Kuwait at the end of August.