Syria Weighs Joining Mecca Joint Defense Agreement as Yemen War Intensifies

Syria is considering joining the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, its foreign minister said in remarks reported on October 31. Al Jazeera reported that the minister described the pact as one Syria is considering entering.

The agreement is a defense pact, meaning a treaty in which members commit to cooperate on security. It was signed in Mecca on August 7, 2026, by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan. The Turkish president, the Saudi crown prince and the Pakistani prime minister signed it, according to SANA. The pact aims to strengthen defense cooperation and the countries' commitments to regional and global peace and stability, and it is based on burden-sharing, a term for dividing responsibilities for security among members. SANA reported those aims.

Syria's possible move comes as fighting in Yemen has intensified. The New York Times reported that the war in Yemen is raging and that attacks on Saudi Arabia have increased. Saudi Arabia is fighting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Syria's interest in the pact has a longer thread. Earlier in October, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Syria was weighing military assistance to Saudi Arabia amid the Yemen conflict. The foreign minister's comments on joining the pact came later in the month.

Syria's foreign minister has said only that Syria is considering entry. No decision on membership has been announced.