The Gulf’s emerging web of security partnerships

The signing of the Badr Memorandum of Understanding by Pakistan, Türkiye, Qatar and Indonesia in Doha on Wednesday is the latest manifestation of Middle Eastern states accelerated efforts for diversifying their defense partnerships amid growing doubts about the reliability of existing security arrangements of the region led by the United States. But, rather than laying the foundations of a new regional security architecture, the proliferation of such agreements is producing a more fractured landscape in which countries are drawing in more partners, pursuing separate strategic interests and accepting varying levels of military commitments. There could not be a bigger example of how uneven is the process than the agreements being signed up by regional countries themselves.

Badr , for instance, focuses on defense manufacturing, technology transfer, research and development, and training, allowing its participants to pool industrial capabilities without committing themselves to military assistance in the event of an attack. In contrast the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement , concluded in August by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, goes considerably further by providing that an attack on one participant will be treated as an attack on all as it builds on a bilateral Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement between Pakistan and KSA signed in Sept 2025. These are two major agreements in addition to several others being signed or solidified by the countries in the region, but the contrast between Badr and Makkah agreements is telling because these agreements are often taken as evidence of an emerging regional security architecture, although the arrangements differ considerably in their purpose and obligations. Makkah agreement formalises security guarantees between participating…