How will the Mecca agreement become an operational framework?

On August 7, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye signed a security agreement in Mecca.

Now their defence and foreign affairs ministers are working out how to turn the pact into an operational framework.

The terms clearly state that an attack against one of the three countries will be considered an attack against all of them.

And with that in mind, the Istanbul meeting focuses on coordinating defence production capabilities and deepening cooperation in the industry.

It comes as tension in the Middle East is running high, with no end in sight to the war in Iran.

But what are the hurdles to these three countries forming a functioning military and security model?

Muhanad Seloom – Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs

Rabia Akhtar – Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Lahore

Galip Dalay – Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House specialising in Turkish foreign policy