Turkey is in advanced talks to join a defence pact between Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan, potentially forming a new military bloc in the Middle East, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the discussions.
The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia considers an attack on either nation as an act of aggression against both, and Turkey’s involvement in the alliance could solidify a broader regional security framework.
According to sources, the talks are progressing and a deal is increasingly likely.
“The expanded alliance would make sense because Turkiye’s interests increasingly overlap with those of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in South Asia, the Middle East and even Africa,” the report read.
The report noted Riyadh’s financial clout and Islamabad’s nuclear capability, ballistic missiles, and manpower, with Turkiye offering military experience and a developed defence industry, according to Nihat Ali Ozcan, a strategist with the Ankara-based think tank TEPAV.
“As the US prioritizes 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 was quoted as saying,
According to Bloomberg, Turkey’s joining the alliance would underscore a new era in relations with Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan and Turkiye have longstanding military relations, with both countries cooperating on a number of defence projects.
Ankara is supplying Pakistan’s Navy with corvette warships and has upgraded numerous F-16 fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force, it said.
Turkiye, which currently shares drone technology with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, is also looking to involve both countries in its Kaan fifth-generation fighter jet programme, according to the report
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the landmark SMDA on September 17, 2025, during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia.
PM Shehbaz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman inked the pact in Riyadh, further strengthening the decades-old security partnership.
Weeks after the signing of the pact, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that more nations wanted to sign a similar agreement with Islamabad.
“Our defence pact with Saudi Arabia is significant. More countries now want to sign a similar agreement with us,” he said while speaking during a National Assembly session on October 3, 2025.
Stressing the significance of the pact, DPM Dar said that several Arab and Muslim nations expressed their wish to sign such an agreement with Pakistan.
