Saudi Arabia Calls Emergency Meeting with Turkish and Pakistani Military Chiefs

Saudi Arabia has called an emergency meeting with the chiefs of staff of Turkey and Pakistan following attacks by Yemen’s Houthi forces.

The Houthis have reportedly targeted Saudi Arabia’s border areas and southern provinces with ballistic missiles and drones.

Emergency Meeting in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the meeting would discuss support for Riyadh under the joint defence agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.

Turkey’s Chief of General Staff, Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia today to attend the meeting.

The three countries recently signed the Mecca Defence Agreement, which provides for a joint response to attacks against any of the three countries.

Turkey’s Position

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan previously said Turkey had the capacity to provide military support at various levels under the agreement, which has been compared to NATO’s Article 5 provision.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has described the agreement as an important step towards developing regional solutions to regional security problems.

The emergency meeting comes as Saudi Arabia faces renewed attacks from the Houthis and the new defence arrangement between the three countries is being put to its first significant test.