Foreign Policy: Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani agreement lacks operational foundations

SANAA, Aug 29 (YPA) – Foreign Policy magazine said the so-called “Mecca Agreement” between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan has been surrounded by grandiose labels such as “Islamic NATO” and “Sunni NATO,” but lacks any operational foundation or genuine presence on the ground.

The magazine argued that such descriptions merely reflect a showy effort to inflate the alliance, while its actual implementation remains severely limited. It said the arrangement still lacks the essential components of a genuine military alliance capable of addressing the regional security dilemma facing Saudi Arabia.

According to the magazine, Riyadh needs not to keep moving forward by creating more alliances devoid of substance, but to address the real causes of tension and conflict in the region.

Continued efforts to promote the alliance raise more pressing questions about the Saudi approach, which overlooks the root causes of conflict, including the blockade imposed on Yemen. The blockade resulted from an earlier coalition established by Riyadh 12 years ago, and despite the coalition’s members eventually falling apart, the blockade on Yemen has remained in place.

The prominent U.S. magazine said that achieving Saudi security and regional stability requires addressing conflict hotspots rather than perpetuating them, foremost among them the war in Yemen. This includes lifting the blockade imposed on the country, ending interference in its affairs, and supporting a genuine political process that guarantees the security of Yemen and its neighbors.

Foreign Policy concluded that this is the only logical approach capable of providing Saudi Arabia and the region with more sustainable security guarantees, rather than continuing to create military alliances that are effectively “dead on arrival.”

AA