Turkey has confirmed for the first time that it is taking part in a Saudi-led multinational maritime coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea, signaling closer ties with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan after a trilateral defence pact signed last week.
Turkey's defence ministry said Thursday that, at Saudi Arabia's invitation, a technical meeting was held in Riyadh on 28 July to ensure freedom of navigation through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, followed by a meeting of chiefs of general staff on 30 July. It said Turkey was attending another coordination meeting in Jeddah on the same day.
The ministry said work was continuing with Saudi authorities to reduce tensions in the Gulf region and ensure the uninterrupted flow of international trade.
The maritime coalition is expected to be the first area where the alliance between Turkey and Saudi Arabia deepens, according to sources in Ankara.
Last week, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, committing the three countries to each other's security, including collective security obligations. Turkey's defence ministry said the pact would establish political and military mechanisms involving the three countries' defence ministers, foreign ministers and military chiefs, with joint military exercises planned. Cooperation could also include joint production and technology sharing in the defence industry.
Saudi Arabia announced last month that it had formed a 13-country maritime alliance to safeguard Red Sea security. The move followed a Houthi declaration on 20 July of a maritime blockade on the kingdom, disrupting oil shipments diverted to the Red Sea after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The alliance reportedly includes Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Somalia and Yemen, and will be headquartered in Riyadh.
Analysts say the Mecca pact remains far from an "Islamic Nato", given the three countries' diverging strategic interests and limited mutual defence capacity.