Türkiye and Qatar signed five agreements and memoranda in Istanbul on Friday after talks between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, according to İhlas News Agency (İHA) and Aksiyon.
The documents were signed at the Presidential Dolmabahçe Office during the 12th meeting of the Türkiye-Qatar High Strategic Committee. The two leaders first held a one-on-one meeting and then delegation-level talks, the reports said.
What was signed
The documents, as reported by İHA and Aksiyon, include:
- a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in consumer protection, market surveillance and inspection, signed by Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani;
- an agreement on cooperation in education, signed by Education Minister Yusuf Tekin and Qatari Minister of State Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi;
- a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in peace, reconciliation and conflict resolution, signed by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani;
- a mutual defense agreement.
The mutual defense agreement was signed by Erdoğan and the Emir themselves, Aksiyon and Dünya reported.
Talks on defense, energy and the region
According to Anadolu Agency (AA), as carried by Star, and Aksiyon, Erdoğan said the Mutual Defense Agreement would add a new dimension to the brotherly ties between the two countries. He said the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, in force since last year, was bringing the two sides closer to their bilateral trade target, that Türkiye was working to develop and diversify its energy partnership with Qatar, and that defense industry cooperation would keep growing.
The leaders also discussed Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the humanitarian situation there, steps in Syria’s normalisation process and the latest situation in Libya, both sources reported. Erdoğan said the two countries would keep working to prevent a renewed war in the Gulf and to build a basis for dialogue and peace, adding that disputes should be resolved through diplomacy.
For Ankara’s recent diplomacy on Gaza, see our report on the R4-E3 foreign ministers’ meeting in Istanbul.
Sources
- Türkiye ile Katar arasında 5 yeni anlaşma! Savunma alanındaki imza dikkat çekti (Bursada Bugün / İHA)
- Dolmabahçe’de 5 anlaşma: Türkiye ve Katar iş birliğini genişletiyor (Aksiyon)
- Erdoğan ile Al Sani görüşmesinde savunma, enerji ve bölgesel gündem öne çıktı (Aksiyon)
- Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan, Katar Emiri Al Sani ile görüştü (Star / AA)
- Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan ve Al Sani imzaladı: Türkiye ile Katar arasında savunma anlaşması (Dünya)
Photo: Julian Lupyan / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
