India on Friday responded to the newly signed defence agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, saying it was “closely following the development.”
The trilateral pact was signed during a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Saudi Arabia, amid growing regional security concerns.
Addressing queries during a weekly media interaction, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “This is also a development that we are closely following, and we shall keep you updated.”
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“The Agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all. It further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three States,” the Pakistan foreign ministry said in a statement, according to news agency AP.
Earlier, Turkey’s Haberturk television and other media outlets reported that the agreement is expected to pave the way for joint military exercises and training, technology transfers, and intelligence sharing, according to AP.
Saudi Arabia, whose critical infrastructure and oil facilities have come under attack amid the conflict with Iran, has been seeking to diversify its defence partnerships.
Pak-Saudi signed defence pact last year
In September 2025, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defence pact that defines an attack on either country as an attack on both, laying the groundwork for deeper security cooperation.
At the time, the MEA had said it would “study the implications” of the strategic mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, under which the two countries agreed to treat an attack on either nation as an act of aggression against both.
“We have seen reports of the signing of a strategic mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The Government was aware that this development, which formalises a long-standing arrangement between the two countries, had been under consideration,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said in response to a media query.
