Pakistan has appointed retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood as the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance.
The appointment places a Pakistani retired army officer at the head of the alliance’s secretariat in Riyadh. The General Secretariat will be established in Saudi Arabia to support the alliance’s work.
The development follows an earlier announcement that Pakistan would provide the alliance’s first secretary general. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had confirmed the decision during a briefing in August.
Nauman Mahmood Appointed Secretary General
Pakistan’s Foreign Office announced Nauman Mahmood’s appointment on Wednesday.
As the first secretary general, Mahmood will lead the General Secretariat being established in Riyadh. The position will place him at the centre of the alliance’s institutional structure.
The appointment also fulfills the decision by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye to initially have a Pakistani secretary general lead the secretariat.
The three countries agreed to establish the Secretariat under the Makkah Agreement during their first Strategic Political and Defence Committee meeting in Istanbul.
Makkah Defence Alliance Secretariat to Be Based in Riyadh
The General Secretariat will operate from Riyadh, where it will support cooperation under the defence agreement.
Moreover, the three countries agreed to further institutionalise their cooperation through the alliance. The arrangement includes efforts to strengthen collective deterrence, defence and cooperative security.
The secretariat’s establishment represents an important step in putting the alliance’s agreed institutional framework into place.
Pakistan’s Role Was Confirmed Earlier
The appointment follows comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in August.
Fidan had confirmed that the first secretary general would come from Pakistan. He also said the alliance’s secretariat would be established in Riyadh.
The announcement therefore completes the process of identifying the Pakistani official who will initially lead the secretariat.
The Makkah Defence Alliance brings Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye together under a trilateral defence framework. The three countries agreed in August to establish a secretariat headed by a secretary general from Pakistan.
With Nauman Mahmood now appointed, the alliance has named its first secretary general as its institutional structure takes shape in Riyadh.
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