ISTANBUL, August 8. /TASS/. The obligations of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement are comparable to NATO's Article 5 on collective defense, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the Anadolu news agency.

"Technically, it's the same thing. You sign a security pact that imposes obligations on the signatory countries," Fidan said.

According to Fidan, the alliance was created in response to the need to strengthen regional security. "Resolving the issue of regional instability required a defense alliance. It took two years and eight months to draft the agreement," he said.

The top diplomat added that the pact would establish a military and political committee, while its secretariat would be based in Saudi Arabia.

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, stipulates that an attack on any of the three countries will be regarded as an attack on all of them.