Ankara, Jan 15 (.) Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday that discussions have taken place on a possible defence arrangement involving Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, but stressed that no agreement has been finalised.
Addressing a press conference in Istanbul, Fidan was asked about reports suggesting Ankara could join a trilateral defence pact. He confirmed that talks had occurred, but cautioned against reading too much into them, reports Geo News.
Any such framework, he said, would depend on deeper regional trust and cooperation.
“There is a need for broader regional cooperation,” Fidan said. “Many of the issues we face could be resolved if the countries concerned were truly confident in one another.”
His remarks follow a Bloomberg report last week claiming Türkiye was at an advanced stage of negotiations to join the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, with people familiar with the matter suggesting a deal could be concluded.
The SMDA, signed on September 17, 2025, during Pak Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Riyadh, treats an attack on either Pakistan or Saudi Arabia as an act of aggression against both.
As per the publication, Ankara has begun weighing its participation in the agreement due to increasing doubts over the long-term reliability of its security partnership with the US, and a growing convergence of strategic interests between Ankara, Riyadh, and Islamabad.
Pakistan and Türkiye already share decades-old defence ties. Ankara is building corvette warships for the Pakistan Navy, has upgraded multiple Pakistan Air Force F-16 fighter jets, and has transferred drone technology to Islamabad.
Turkish drones were used during Pakistan’s Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos against Indian forces during Operation Sindoor, as it had reportedly deployed 400 Turkish origin Songar drones against India, across 36 military and civilian districts, during the nights of May 8 and 9 last year.
India’s superior air defence systems, such as the L70 guns and Akash missiles managed to destroy all the Songar drones used, with wreckage of the downed drones being discovered in Punjab, Gujarat, Jammu, and Rajasthan.
On Wednesday, Sharif said Islamabad was holding defence talks with several countries, including discussions linked to the sale of Pakistani-made fighter aircraft.
Earlier, Defence Production Minister Raza Hayat Harraj told BBC that Islamabad was in talks with multiple states over potential sales of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets.
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