India, Aug. 18 -- US President Donald Trump has termed the Saudi Arabia-Turkiye-Pakistan defence agreement a "big, bold and important first step" towards defending themselves in a "more meaningful way".

Signed in Makkah on August 7, the pact establishes a framework for collective deterrence and stipulated that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three.

The agreement was signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sharif on Monday lauded Trump's "kind words" on the tri-nation defence agreement, saying that Islamabad would continue to work in ensuring its defence and the wider region. Trump, in a pos...