Istanbul (GNP): Turkiye and Qatar signed a mutual defense agreement on Friday, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying it would strengthen ties between the two regional allies. The Turkish Presidency announced the deal after Erdogan met Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Istanbul.
The Qatari leader came to the city after attending the United Nations COP31 climate summit in Antalya. His visit gave the two sides a chance to formalize a security arrangement alongside wider talks.
In a statement on X, the presidency said the two countries would keep working to prevent war from returning to the Gulf region and to build a basis for dialogue and peace. Erdogan also said Ankara and Doha would expand cooperation in the defense industry.
The meeting went beyond bilateral defense. According to the statement, the leaders discussed Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, as well as efforts toward normalization in Syria and the latest developments in Libya.
The new agreement follows another security commitment Ankara made earlier this year. In August, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed a joint defense pact under which an armed attack on any one member is treated as an attack on all three.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Erdogan signed that pact at the “Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence.”
Turkiye’s parliament approved the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement a week before the Qatar deal, completing the legislative process needed for the trilateral pact to take effect. The bill passed by 279 votes to 119, with 398 of the 592 members taking part in the vote after an extended debate.
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During that debate, Ziya Altunyaldiz, a lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, said the pact was meant to strengthen regional security and prevent conflict, not escalate tensions. He stressed that it was not aimed at any third country. Opposition lawmakers, however, raised questions about its scope and oversight.
The pact had been moving toward implementation for weeks. Last month, Pakistan’s Foreign Office confirmed that Islamabad and Riyadh had completed their ratification processes, while Turkiye was finalizing procedures under its domestic legal framework.
An October 5 meeting of the alliance’s Strategic, Political and Defence Committee in Riyadh brought it closer still. The committee called for immediate implementation of collective defense commitments and for the rapid deployment in Saudi Arabia of agreed military forces and capabilities, subject to each country’s national laws.
Erdogan said, “The agreement will add a new dimension to the brotherly ties between the two countries.”
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
