Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have taken a big step by signing a defence agreement. In what has been described as the most positive move in over a decade, relations took a major step forward. The new strategic Saudi-Pakistani relations are a new pivot for West Asia, and the regions are gearing up to make the most of the situation.
The agreement opens the possibility of a new regional defence alignment
As Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will view any attacks against each other as an attack against themselves, a mutual defense will be initiated. The Saudi-Pakistani agreement extends to co-operation on the Saudi-Pakistani military records. Saudi Arabia can now create strategic Saudi-Pakistani regional military alliances. From the military accords, Saudi-Pakistan relations are now at the level of strategic relations.
Such relations create alliances in the Middle East and South Asia to create joint military exercises, the ability to share military intelligence, joint defense, and the offensive capability to initiate a military attack and plan Saudi and Pakistani military forces.
The military relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia go a very long way back. Since the 1960s, when Saudi Arabia first began to station Pakistani troops, the two countries have organized and participated in numerous military drills and training missions together. Yet, the countries have relied on very loose, informal, and limited agreements to get this done.ย This recent pact is the first time the countries have upgraded their relations and strategic alliance.
The new defensive relations arise during the new and altered geopolitical relations
The long-standing Western dominance in the Middle East has slowly and strategically altered as suggested alignment and relations have moved to the East. Saudi Arabia, as Western analysts have noted, has altered its relations and military position from being Western-aligned to being Eastern-influenced.
The pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan marks a step towards modernizing Saudi Arabia’s defense services and encouraging new partnerships between the two countries. For Saudi Arabia, Pakistan represents the region’s largest and strongest military, which could serve as a security and credible defense partner against growing regional threats, especially from Iran.
Recent uncertainties surrounding U.S. military commitments further exacerbated threats, especially from Iran.ย For the first time, Saudi Arabia is prioritizing military defense investments, and Pakistan’s military training on conventional and asymmetric warfare will become a reliable complementary resource.
Together with mutual defense commitments, the Saudi-Pakistan defense agreement gives the 2 nations the chance to restructure the geopolitical security arrangement in West Asia.
Pakistan is also under pressure on multiple fronts, but for different reasons
The defense pact will offer cultivable new routes for Pakistan’s defense experts and military training, which is Pakistan’s main goal to counter Geopolitical pressures. The partnership will reinforce Pakistan’s strategic position in the Gulf, a region where it plays a balancing role between competitors. The agreement will also offer new means to counter Indian influence in the region.
Turkey and Qatar, which have been strengthening their relations with Pakistan, may try to expand their own partnerships even more due to this agreement. India, on the other hand, has several reasons to closely monitor this agreement, given the military regional balances it affects and the strategic interests of India in the Gulf.
The agreement is also strategic in the sense that it demonstrates how countries in Western Asia are increasingly assuming more responsibility for their own security and confirms that Western Asia is a center of strategic competition.
Predicting whether this agreement will provide constructive stability or provoke unmitigated regional tensions is difficult. But what is certain is the current strategic trade relations resulting in a shift in profitability within the Gulf, with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia being the primary players in the new realignment.