The signing of the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan has attracted considerable international attention and generated divergent views regarding its significance and strategic implications for the allied states.
Numerous commentators have cast doubt on the agreement’s utility or the feasibility of its implementation, portraying the agreement as though it were specifically designed to counter the ambitions and strategic plans of certain states — and therefore ought to be undermined before it can become fully effective. Others have attempted to characterize it as sectarian in nature.
Such interpretations overlook a fundamental point: the agreement is defensive in purpose and character. Its value as a collective security arrangement should not reasonably be called into question except by those who harbor hostile intentions toward these non-sectarian states or who may contemplate targeting them in the future.
The formation of alliances to address immediate security and military threats, as well as foreseeable future threats, is a legitimate right of states under international law and a well-established practice throughout the history of international diplomacy.
Such alliances are forged among responsible states that share a common strategic assessment of the nature and scope of threats to their national security and stability, as well as to the security and stability of their broader geostrategic environment.
The states allied under the Makkah Agreement share this assessment in light of the wars engulfing the region, the anticipated strategic vacuum these conflicts are likely to leave in their wake, the resulting imbalance of power and the erosion of the regional order that has prevailed over recent decades. That order has historically been supported by international protection of a region whose security and stability are essential globally and strategically — not only because of its geoeconomic and geofinancial significance, but also because of its central location and enduring historical and political importance.
The three states are of considerable geostrategic importance, and their respective capabilities are complementary in ways that could contribute to restoring the regional strategic balance and filling any strategic vacuum resulting from the conflicts in the region.
Through their alliance, the three countries have the potential to emerge as a major strategic actor capable of confronting threats directed against them or the wider region. Moreover, the alliance could potentially expand to include other states that share the same strategic objectives.
Some interpretations, which fail to fully appreciate the agreement’s strategic dimensions, have viewed the Kingdom’s importance and role in this alliance as being linked to its financial capacity and its efforts to ensure its own security, and as being confined to these important aspects. However, the Kingdom’s geostrategic importance is no less significant than that of the other parties to the alliance, if it does not surpass them.
Some have argued that the Kingdom has consistently sought a reliable partner to underpin its stability and safeguard its security, portraying this pursuit as unique to Saudi Arabia. In reality, however, all states seek the same thing for the same purpose. Nevertheless, the Kingdom’s location on the international geopolitical map has made it a magnet for states seeking to secure its support and endorsement.
Saudi Arabia’s geostrategic importance derives from a combination of factors: its strategic location, central religious significance, vast oil resources, financial strength, the moderation and pragmatism of its policies, diplomatic role, extensive international relationships and military capabilities.
Through this strategic location, Saudi Arabia exerts significant influence over global energy markets, maritime security, the balance of power in the Arabian Gulf and the broader Middle East, and relations among the major powers. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz further highlighted the strategic importance of the Kingdom’s position on the Red Sea, as well as the readiness of its ports and supporting infrastructure to provide alternative routes for energy supplies, and a key logistics hub for global supply and distribution chains.
Oil remains one of the Kingdom’s most important strategic assets: Saudi Arabia possesses one of the world’s largest proven oil reserves and has consistently ranked among the leading producers and exporters within OPEC. The Kingdom also maintains substantial spare production capacity, enabling it to increase or reduce output more rapidly than many other major producers.
This capacity provides Riyadh with exceptional leverage over global oil supply and prices. Saudi production decisions can have far-reaching implications for inflation, transport costs, government revenues, and economic growth across both developed and developing countries.
Through their alliance, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan have the potential to emerge as a major strategic actor capable of confronting threats directed against them or the wider region.
Prince Turki Al-Faisal
Accordingly, Saudi Arabia is not merely an oil exporter, but a key participant in the management of the global energy market. Today, the Kingdom is building part of its geopolitical significance on its success, through Vision 2030, in transforming its oil-based wealth into sustained economic, technological, and institutional influence, while expanding into other important economic sectors such as investment, tourism, entertainment, logistics, manufacturing, mining, renewable and nuclear energy, and defense production.
If strategic location and oil resources are key determinants of geostrategic and geopolitical importance, the Kingdom’s religious standing is no less significant. Saudi Arabia is home to the Qibla — the direction Muslims face in prayer, toward the Holy Kaaba in Makkah — of the Muslim world and Islam’s two holiest cities, toward which millions of Muslims are drawn each year to perform Hajj and Umrah, and to visit the holy sites. This unique religious significance confers upon the Kingdom a degree of international standing that no other state possesses.
The responsibility for organizing, administering, and safeguarding these holy sites — both an honor for the Kingdom and a duty it bears — has enabled Saudi Arabia to develop extensive and deeply rooted relations with governments, Muslim communities and Islamic organizations across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The Kingdom’s religious standing further enables it to serve as an influential voice in the Islamic world, underpinned by its position as a leading Arab power, a central actor in the Muslim world, a major energy producer, a strong economy, and an active member of international and regional organizations, including the G20, which brings together the world’s major economies. Few countries possess such an interconnected combination of sources of influence, standing and strategic relevance across all levels.
While the Kingdom has maintained a strategic relationship with the US, both historically and in contemporary times, it has also developed multifaceted strategic partnerships with China, Russia, the EU, and most countries worldwide, except the Zionist entity. These relationships are founded on shared interests and mutual benefits, and are intended to advance the Kingdom’s security, stability and broader strategic space.
The Kingdom conducts its international relations and diplomacy prudently, grounded in trust and credibility. It works to resolve conflicts and wars in the region. It employs its diplomatic influence to advance Palestinian rights and help bring the crisis-ridden region out of protracted conflicts. This approach has established Saudi Arabia as an important strategic actor in an unsettled international system that is increasingly moving toward multipolarity.
Regardless of the Kingdom’s strategic importance, it moves confidently toward the future and harnesses the sources of its importance to build its own strength. Alliances are merely an added value in achieving its security and stability, and ensuring the success of its ambitious plans in a secure and stable region.
• Prince Turki Al-Faisal is the former director-general of Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency and a former ambassador. He is also the founder and trustee of the King Faisal Foundation and chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
