Türkiye and Qatar Sign Mutual Defense Agreement at Dolmabahçe

The Mutual Defense Agreement was one of five documents concluded in Istanbul on Friday as Türkiye and Qatar convened the 12th meeting of their Supreme Strategic Committee. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani signed the defense pact themselves at the Presidential Dolmabahçe Office.

The ceremony followed a formal welcome, then one-on-one and delegation talks, the Turkish presidency said.

Erdoğan said the agreement “will add another dimension to our brotherhood,” according to a readout issued by Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications.

Officials have not released the text of the pact, and its operative clauses have not been published.

Leaders Sign the Pact Themselves

Anadolu Agency reported that the Mutual Defense Agreement was the only one of the five documents signed by the two heads of state.

Ministers signed the other accords in the leaders’ presence. They included a memorandum on consumer protection and market surveillance, an education cooperation agreement, and a foreign ministry understanding on peace, reconciliation and conflict resolution.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also signed the joint communiqué of the committee meeting.

Trade, Energy and Defense Industry

Erdoğan said a Commercial and Economic Partnership Agreement that entered into force last year had brought the two countries somewhat closer to their mutual trade volume target.

He said Türkiye was working to develop and diversify its energy partnership with Qatar, and that defense industry cooperation would continue to expand.

Talks Cover Gaza and the Gulf

Erdoğan said Ankara and Doha would keep working together to prevent the war in the Gulf region from flaring up again and to establish a basis for dialogue and peace. He said it was important to persuade the parties to resolve their problems through diplomacy.

The presidency said the talks also covered Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the humanitarian situation in the territory, Syria’s steps toward normalization, and the latest situation in Libya.

A Longstanding Military Relationship

The signing builds on a military relationship that has included a Turkish force presence in Qatar since the mid-2010s.

Ankara and Doha signed a defense cooperation agreement in 2014 and later established a Combined Joint Force Command at the Tariq bin Ziyad base near Doha, a deployment expanded after the 2017 Gulf diplomatic crisis.

The new bilateral pact is separate from the trilateral defense agreement Türkiye signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in Mecca this year, and from a U.S. security guarantee extended to Qatar in October. It is also distinct from a memorandum Azerbaijan has moved to ratify with Türkiye on mutual military assistance.