A meeting of the "Mecca Agreement" is expected to be held in Riyadh to discuss a political path with the Houthis.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar announced that the Strategic Political Defense Committee, which emerged from the Mecca Agreement for joint defense between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, will hold a meeting in Riyadh next week, noting that the meeting will discuss ways to engage politically with the Houthi group instead of resorting to military action.
Dar said the meeting would focus on security developments in the region and the attacks launched by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia, as part of exploring ways to deal with them through political and diplomatic channels.
The anticipated meeting comes after a meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York, where the ministers discussed the progress made in establishing the Secretariat, committees and working groups stipulated in the Mecca Agreement, as well as preparations for the start of their work.
Dar said that more than six countries have expressed their desire to join the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, explaining that the new membership requests will not be decided upon until the agreement becomes fully operational, a process that could take up to a year.
Regarding maritime security, the Pakistani Foreign Minister stressed that “there should be no fees for crossing the Strait of Hormuz.”
During the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee established under the agreement, held in Istanbul on August 31, the three countries agreed to strengthen defense cooperation, develop military capabilities, and establish a secretariat for the agreement in Saudi Arabia.
The principle of the pact, which considers an attack on one member state as an attack on all members, mirrors the principle of collective defense set out in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Sedq Al Roya - royanews.com
Watch more videos "Click here"
