On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and issued a joint statement affirming Riyadh’s right to self‑defence amid the escalating Houthi campaign in Yemen.
The ministers demanded the protection of maritime navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab el‑Mandeb strait, noting that any attack on a member of the trilateral defence alliance would be treated as an attack on all, and voiced support for Yemen’s government in its quest for stability.
Earlier this week, Saudi air defences intercepted a Houthi drone south of Mecca, a strike the ministry said was stopped before it could enter the city’s prohibited airspace; the Houthis denied targeting the holy site.
The statement reinforces the defence pact signed on 7 August 2023, which outlines a collective deterrence framework obligating each side to act if any of the three countries is attacked.
With the Red Sea shipping lanes already strained by the conflict, the ministers urged sustained diplomatic engagement and pledged to keep the waterways clear for international trade; a trilateral summit is slated for late May to review operational details.