A committee of the Mecca defence pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will hold talks in Riyadh on Monday, with Turkish ministers among those attending, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and chief of the general staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu will join Saudi and Pakistani officials. They will meet as the pact’s strategic political and defence committee.

The Turkish statement said the meeting will address recent developments in the region and the progress of the alliance’s institutionalisation efforts.

Pakistan’s foreign minister said on Friday that Iran had suggested engaging Yemen’s Houthis politically after attacks by the group. The idea is expected to be discussed in Riyadh.

The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. It pledges that an armed attack on any one of them will be treated as an attack on all three. Their military chiefs met in Riyadh on September 25 and condemned Houthi attacks.

On Sunday, the leader of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government announced a major military operation aimed at retaking territory held by the Iran-backed Houthis.