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Turkey, Qatar sign mutual defence agreement, Turkish presidency says

Reuters
Turkey, Qatar sign mutual defence agreement, Turkish presidency says

ISTANBUL, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Turkey ‌and Qatar signed a mutual defence agreement on Friday, the office of President Tayyip ​Erdogan said, ‌as the Turkish leader met the Qatari ‌Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Istanbul.

"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," the presidency said in a statement on X, ⁠which did not provide details on the defence ‌accord.

The statement cited him as ⁠saying that Turkey and Qatar were working to ​develop and diversify their energy partnership, and that their cooperation in the defence industry would continue ​to grow.

"President Erdogan stated that the Mutual ​Defence ‌Agreement signed today by Turkey and Qatar would add another ​dimension to our brotherhood," it added.

In August, ⁠Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed ‌a joint defence agreement ​in Mecca, bringing together the ​Sunni Muslim US allies at a time of conflict across the region.

Turkey's parliament ratified the so-called Mecca Joint Defence Agreement last week, clearing the ‌way for Ankara to send military support to Saudi Arabia, which has been struggling to fend ‌off ​attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants.

Under the agreement, signed by the three regional powers in August, an attack on one party constitutes an attack on all.

(Reporting ‌by Daren Butler; Editing by Aidan Lewis)