NATO-style Saudi-Pakistan-Turkey defence pact puts $5.5 billion arms deals for 2 African countries back in spotlight

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, declaring that an armed attack against any member would be considered an attack against all three.

The agreement expands an earlier Saudi-Pakistan defence pact and formally brings Turkey, which has one of the region’s largest militaries and a growing defence industry, into the arrangement.

For Africa, the development raises a key question: could closer Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish military cooperation revive or reshape Pakistani defence deals worth more than $5 billion involving Sudan and Libya?

There is no indication that the new agreement has restarted either transaction.

However, the pact changes the political environment around them, particularly because Saudi Arabia played a decisive role in the financing and subsequent suspension of the Sudan deal.

The agreement comes as the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran has destabilised the Gulf, disrupted shipping and increased pressure on regional governments to strengthen their security ties.

Iran and its allies have attacked targets in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states and disrupted shipments since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

In Yemen, Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control the north of the country, have continued fighting government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition.

Last month, the Houthis announced a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia and targeted Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea.

Against that backdrop, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey have moved to deepen their defence cooperation.

Announcing the new pact, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said an attack on any of the three states “shall be regarded as an attack against them all”.

Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi had also signalled before the meeting that the talks would extend beyond the immediate Gulf crisis.

“Although taking place against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Gulf, the visit will carry significance beyond the immediate crisis and short-term considerations,” Andrabi said.

Business Insider Africa reported in January that negotiations had reached their final stages and that Saudi Arabia had helped broker the arrangement.

“Saudi Arabia has signaled that Pakistan should terminate the deal after it dropped the idea of financing it,” a Pakistani security source told Reuters at the time.

The decision came as Riyadh reassessed its role in African conflicts and sought to avoid deeper involvement in regional proxy wars.

Saudi Arabia has also continued to advocate a negotiated settlement in Sudan.

At the United Nations in June, Riyadh reiterated its support for Sudan’s territorial integrity, a ceasefire and the resumption of political talks through the Jeddah process.

Pakistan’s separate agreement involving Libya was also caught in Riyadh’s reassessment.

In December 2025, Pakistani officials said Islamabad had reached a deal worth more than $4 billion to supply military equipment to forces controlled by eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar.

The agreement ranked among Pakistan’s largest defence export deals and came despite the United Nations arms embargo on Libya.

By April, Pakistani sources told reporters that the Libya transaction was also in jeopardy because Saudi Arabia was “revisiting their strategy” in both Sudan and Libya.

Riyadh’s latest embrace of Islamabad, this time alongside Ankara, therefore carries added significance for Africa.

Turkey’s entry into the pact strengthens its African dimension, with Ankara becoming an increasingly important external player in Sudan.

A July 2026 UK government assessment, citing conflict-monitoring data, listed Turkey alongside Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran and Pakistan among countries aligned with or supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces, although the nature and scale of their support differ.

Turkey has also stepped up engagement with Khalifa Haftar’s eastern Libyan forces, bringing Ankara closer to the same camp involved in Pakistan’s multibillion-dollar arms agreement.

The new pact could therefore create room for closer coordination between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey over Sudan and Libya.

However, there is still no indication that it has revived the stalled deals.