Syria weighs joining the Mecca Pact, foreign minister says

BEIRUT — Months after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Pact, Syria has expressed interest in joining, its foreign minister said.

“Discussions are currently under way to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance,” Asaad al-Shaibani said during the IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Saturday.

The Mecca Pact, signed on Aug. 7, aims 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 defense cooperation among the three states,” according to a joint statement by the three countries.

The three countries are expected to boost defense production cooperation with a trilateral ecosystem, experts told Breaking Defense in August. If Syria joins the alliance, it will be part of the defense production cooperation.

The Mecca Pact was signed amid increasing regional attacks from Iran-backed Houthis, and while Syria is recovering from a 14-year civil war that ended in December 2024.

Highlighting Syria’s stance amid the ongoing Iranian attacks on the Gulf states, al-Shaibani said that “Syria considers that the security of the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] and the Gulf is a part of its regional security and vice versa. Consequently, Syria stands by all the Gulf states. Regardless of any other political positions, we stand by the governments of the Gulf and the peoples of the Gulf to face all the challenges and all the trans-border militias.”

Al-Shaibani’s comments at the Manama Dialogue come as Syria eyes to end all foreign military bases in the country, according to a September speech by President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Al-Sharaa noted at the time that this move will allow the country to have “complete and pure sovereignty of the Syrian state.”

Similarly, al-Shaibani said at the Manama dialogue that Syria has “expelled militias that have intervened in Syria, and it is possible to convey this experience and to expand cooperation and collaboration with other countries facing the same problem. Because any weapon outside the scope of the state will weaken the state before harming the others and harming the neighborhood.”

Syria is not the only Arab state that might join the pact. Defense expert Riad Kahwaji told Breaking Defense in August that Qatar and Kuwait are other possible candidates.

“We already have a defense pact between Kuwait and Pakistan, and we have another one between Qatar and Turkey. So I believe these two countries would be the most likely first candidates to join this this pact,” Kahwaji said.