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Turkey and Qatar signed a landmark mutual defence agreement on Friday, strengthening their strategic and security partnership for deterrence amid a rapidly changing security landscape of the Gulf and the Middle East.
Turkish president President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met in Istanbul on Friday to co-chair the Supreme Strategic Committee between Qatar and Turkey, concluding a wide range of bilateral agreements.
The two leaders adopted the mutual defence agreement “aimed at bolstering collective defence and achieving regional security and stability, as well as adopting a unified position in the face of any external armed attack targeting either or both parties”, according to a joint statement released by the two countries.
“The two parties agreed to hold consultations on threats to their security… and to strengthen cooperation through joint military exercises, collaboration in the field of defence industries, and the exchange of personnel training,” the statement said.
Both countries said that their agreement underlines their shared vision of a more secure and stable regional order, with Erdogan’s office stating that it will “add a new dimension to the brotherly ties between the two countries.”
“President Erdogan stated that we would continue working together to prevent the resurgence of war in the Gulf region and establish a basis for dialogue and achieve peace,” according to a Turkish presidency statement on X, and that the agreement will expand defence industry cooperation between the two countries.
Turkey and Qatar would continue working together “to prevent a renewed outbreak of war in the Gulf region and to promote dialogue and peace”, Erdogan said.
The leaders discussed Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, efforts towards normalisation in Syria and the latest developments in Libya, the statement added.
Qatar and Turkey also signed multiple agreements on trade and energy cooperation as well as diplomacy, education and culture.
A new map of regional defensive alliances is taking shape
The new partnership comes at a time of rapid regional defence realignments triggered by the Iran war as Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia have been shaping a new map of defence alliances in the region in a matter of a few months.
The Gulf nations have been clear that the United States’ regional security umbrella continues to be central to their security architecture, but with Washington signalling its own global realignment, the Gulf countries are now widening their defence strategies, in the context of the ongoing “no war, no peace” reality.
In August, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement,” a regional defence pact under which the three countries would come to each other’s aid if one of them came under attack.
Ratified by the Turkish parliament last week, the pact links NATO member Turkey, which has the alliance’s second-largest military, with Pakistan, the Muslim world’s only nuclear-armed state, and Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s leading power.
Turkey has said the agreement is not aimed at any other country and remains open to other states, including Egypt.
Also in August, Pakistan and Kuwait signed a joint defence and military cooperation agreement.
In October, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia signed the “Badr” multilateral memorandum of understanding on defence industry cooperation.