Turkey and Qatar sign mutual defence agreement

Turkey and Qatar signed a mutual defence agreement on Friday after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Istanbul, Erdogan's office said.

Erdogan said the agreement would “add a new dimension” to ties between the two countries. His office gave no further details about its contents.

Erdogan also said Turkey and Qatar would expand defence industry cooperation. The leaders discussed the Iran war, Israel's attacks on Gaza, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, efforts towards normalisation in Syria and developments in Libya, according to his office.

Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a regional defence pact in August under which they would come to each other's aid if one came under attack. Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey also signed a multilateral memorandum on defence cooperation in Doha in October.