Ankara, August 08 (QNA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan affirmed Saturday that there are other countries in the region that aspire to join the Makkah Agreement for Joint Defense, signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan on Friday.

Fidan added in a press statement that the agreement is technically akin to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in terms of collective defense, highlighting that it doesn't determine any shared threat per se and doesn't target any country, either, as long as that country doesn't launch any attack on any of the countries that signed the deal.

The agreement will involve military training and sessions, Fidan pointed out, noting that this matter is enduring when it comes to the nature of shared military alliances, as interoperability and operating in a unified position can't be achieved without this deal.

The three nations signed the deal on Friday during a tripartite summit convened in Makkah Al Mukarramah and attended by HH Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The joint statement that emerged from this summit emphasized that the agreement intends to bolster shared deterrence against any potential assault and contemplates that any armed attack on any of the three nations is an attack on all.

The deal in question is meant to enhance all aspects of defense cooperation among these countries. (QNA)