On Friday, leaders from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed a new defense agreement, which “stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all.” It is worth remembering that Saudi Arabia has had a mutual defense agreement with Pakistan since September 2025 and with the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council since 2000. —Allison Minor is the director of the Project for Middle East Integration with the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East programs. But there are also strategic advantages for Pakistan, given how important the Middle East is to Pakistan’s strategic interests. TurkeyThe Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed by the leaders of Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia today represents an inflection point in the emerging multipolar order in the Middle East and South Asia.