ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan on Friday signed the Mecca Agreement, a trilateral defensive pact that asserts that any attack against one of the signatory states "shall be regarded as an attack against them all."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met in Jeddah on Friday to sign the document, coming at a time when regional conflict has increasingly impacted the Gulf kingdom.

According to a joint statement released by the signatories, "the Agreement is intended 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."

Riyadh and Islamabad previously signed a bilateral defense agreement in September, strengthening a decades-old partnership that currently sees over 8,000 Pakistani troops, as well as fighter jets and air defense systems, deployed in the Kingdom.

The inclusion of Turkey marks a bolstering of the alliance, coming as Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly targeted by Yemen's Houthi rebels and pro-Iran Iraqi militias in recent months.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi vessels transiting in the Red Sea, threatening Riyadh's oil exports that have largely been diverted to its western shores amid the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Similarly, the bombardment of oil infrastructure in the country by pro-Iran Iraqi factions and the subsequent Saudi bombardment of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) sites across Iraq has led to a diplomatic firestorm in Baghdad, with authorities scrambling to rein in subversion by non-state actors.

"Although taking place against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Gulf, the visit will carry significance beyond the immediate crisis and short-term considerations," Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday ahead of the premier's trip.

Pakistan has played a key role in mediating US-Iran negotiations in recent months, while Turkey has increasingly become a powerful regional actor with a significant deterrent capability in its large, NATO-embedded military and innovative drone technology.