Turkey and Qatar signed a mutual defence agreement on Friday, pledging a unified response to any external armed attack targeting either nation during talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Istanbul.
The agreement followed the 12th session of the Supreme Strategic Committee, according to a joint statement reported by France 24. Under the pact, the two countries agreed to consult on security threats, coordinate positions on regional and global security issues, and expand cooperation through joint military exercises, defence-industry partnerships, and personnel training exchanges.
Erdogan met with Sheikh Tamim at Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Office following the Turkish president’s participation in the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Hürriyet Daily News reported. The talks also covered energy cooperation, particularly in liquefied natural gas trade, alongside technology and new investments.
“A mutual defence agreement signed by Turkiye and Qatar today will add a new dimension to the brotherly ties between the two countries,” Erdogan said during the meeting, as noted by The News Pakistan.
The joint communiqué said that the agreement reflects both countries’ commitment to safeguarding their sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as their shared vision of a secure and stable regional order. The Qatari Foreign Ministry reaffirmed these goals in a statement posted to X, adding that the deal also encompasses cultural, economic, humanitarian, and educational collaboration, according to The Jerusalem Post.
This accord follows the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed in August by Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, which was ratified by the Turkish parliament last week. That trilateral pact links NATO member Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, establishing that an attack on one party constitutes an attack on all.
The leaders reviewed longstanding economic ties, bilateral trade, and the implementation of recent defense frameworks, including the Badr pact signed on October 21 by the defense ministries of Turkey, Qatar, Indonesia, and Pakistan, as reported by Hürriyet Daily News.
