Turkey may deploy its base in Saudi Arabia amid plans to expand its military presence in the kingdom as part of the Mecca defense pact.
This was reported by the newspaper Türkiye.
It was previously reported that in the coming weeks Ankara will send a limited contingent and military equipment to Saudi Arabia. Since 2025, Turkey has stationed more than 200 military specialists, technical teams, air defense and electronic warfare assets in the country to protect critically important infrastructure.
According to Türkiye, under the decision adopted on October 5 in Riyadh by the member states of the Mecca alliance (Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey) on an immediate transition to the practical implementation of joint defense commitments and the deployment of military forces, Turkey will take part in protecting four of Saudi Arabia's most important gas and electric power facilities with its short- and medium-range air defense systems. The number of service members to be sent to the region will be specified in the coming days.
The decision to send a Turkish military contingent to Saudi Arabia must be made by the country's parliament. It is expected that this will be done in October.
According to open sources, Turkey has military bases in 12 countries. The largest of them is located in the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, where a contingent of more than 30,000 troops is stationed. Turkish bases are also located in Qatar, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Libya and a number of other countries.
