T ump
hails
Mecca
Ag eeme t
as
“big
a d
bold
step”
US
P eside t
Do ald
T ump
o
Su day
th ew
his
weight
behi d
the
ewly
sig ed
Mecca
Joi t
Defe ce
Ag eeme t
betwee
Saudi
A abia,
Tu key
a d
Pakista ,
calli g
it
a
“big,
bold,
a d
impo ta t
fi st
step”.The
pact,
sig ed
o
August
7,
has
b ought
the
th ee
majo
Islamic
atio s
close
o
defe ce
a d
has
al eady
d aw
compa iso s
with
Nato’s
collective
defe ce
p i ciple.Its
esembla ce
to
Nato’s
co e
p i ciple
has
also
ea ed
the
g oupi g
the
mo ike
“Islamic
Nato.”T ump
p aised
the
ag eeme t
i
a
post
o
T uth
Social,
sayi g
it
showed
that
“the
Middle
East
is
comi g
togethe ”
a d
that
cou t ies
would
ow
be
able
to
defe d
themselves
“i
a
mo e
mea i gful
way”.“Ve y
happy
to
see
that
Saudi
A abia,
Tu key,
a d
Pakista
have
ece tly,
a d
fi ally,
sig ed
the
Mecca
Joi t
Defe ce
Ag eeme t.
It
shows
how
the
Middle
East
is
comi g
togethe ,
a d
how
cou t ies
will
fi ally
be
able
to
defe d
themselves
i
a
mo e
mea i gful
way,”
T ump
said.“Co g atulatio s
to
the
G eat
Leade ship
of
the
th ee
Natio s
me tio ed.
THIS
IS
A
BIG,
BOLD,
AND
IMPORTANT
FIRST
STEP
—
WOW,”
T ump
w ote.The
ag eeme t
was
sig ed
i
Jeddah
by
Saudi
C ow
P i ce
Mohammed
bi
Salma ,
Tu kish
P eside t
Recep
Tayyip
E doga
a d
Pakista
P ime
Mi iste
Shehbaz
Sha if.
Its
ce t al
message
is
simple
but
sig ifica t:
“a
a med
attack
o
o e
of
the
th ee
cou t ies
will
be
t eated
as
a
attack
o
all
th ee.”That
commitme t
has
immediately
t igge ed
compa iso s
with
Nato’s
A ticle
5,
u de
which
a
attack
o
o e
membe
is
t eated
as
a
attack
o
the
allia ce.
What
is
the
Mecca
deal?
The
Mecca
ag eeme t
is
aimed
at
taki g
defe ce
coope atio
betwee
Saudi
A abia,
Tu key
a d
Pakista
to
a
ew
level.
Beyo d
milita y
exe cises
a d
a ms
deals,
it
c eates
a
fo mal
commitme t
to
collective
defe ce
a d
dete e ce.The
ag eeme t
is
epo tedly
based
o
A ticle
51
of
the
UN
Cha te ,
which
ecog ises
the
ight
of
cou t ies
to
i dividual
a d
collective
self-defe ce.Officials
have
also
outli ed
a eas
of
coope atio
i cludi g
milita y
t ai i g,
pe so el
excha ges
a d
joi t
exe cises.
Repo ts
suggest
the
pact
could
also
deepe
i tellige ce-sha i g
amo g
the
th ee
cou t ies.Howeve ,
the e
a e
still
impo ta t
details
that
emai
u clea .
The
full
text
of
the
ag eeme t
has
ot
bee
made
public,
leavi g
questio s
ove
the
exact
milita y
obligatio s,
the
geog aphical
limits
of
the
defe ce
gua a tee
a d
the
ci cumsta ces
that
would
t igge
a
joi t
espo se.U like
the
ea lie
Saudi-Pakista
St ategic
Mutual
Defe ce
Ag eeme t,
the
ew
t ilate al
pact
does
ot
publicly
me tio
uclea
weapo s
o
a
uclea -sha i g
a a geme t.
Why
it
matte s
fo
I dia
The
eme ge ce
of
what
is
bei g
desc ibed
as
a
“Islamic
Nato”
has
also
caught
I dia’s
atte tio .New
Delhi
said
it
is
exami i g
the
ag eeme t
fo
its
possible
impact
o
atio al
secu ity
as
well
as
egio al
peace
a d
stability.“As
fa
as
this
ag eeme t
is
co ce ed,
we
a e
exami i g
its
implicatio s
both
f om
the
pe spective
of
I dia’s
atio al
secu ity
a d
co side atio s
of
egio al
peace
a d
stability,”
exte al
affai s
mi ist y
spokespe so
Ra dhi
Jaiswal
said
o
August
11.“I dia
emai s
fully
committed
to
safegua di g
its
atio al
i te ests
a d
will
take
all
ecessa y
measu es
i
this
ega d,”
MEA
said.Pakista ,
a
membe
of
the
g oupi g,
has
emai ed
a
pe siste t
sou ce
of
te sio
fo
I dia,
pa ticula ly
i
the
wake
of
the
Pahalgam
massac e.
Relatio s
betwee
the
two
cou t ies
have
si ce
dete io ated
sha ply,
with
I dia
dow g adi g
diplomatic
ties
with
Islamabad.