Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, signed eight agreements in Ankara on Thursday aiming at developing military and trade between the two countries, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Al Thani was received by President Erdoğan at his presidential palace on Thursday in an official ceremony. The leaders then chaired the 10th edition of the Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee meeting. Established in 2014, the committee convenes annually, alternating between Qatar and Turkey, under the joint leadership of the two leaders.
The agreements signed on Thursday include understandings on facilitation of trade and military and technical cooperation between the two countries.
Since the first Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee meeting, held in Doha in 2015, more than 110 agreements and memoranda of understanding aimed at fostering and supporting cooperation between the countries in various fields have been signed.
Turkey has been deploying land forces in Qatar since 2015. In 2017, the Turkish Ground Component Command was rebranded as the Turkish-Qatari Joint Combined Command. Since its establishment, this command has overseen a Turkish military base in Qatar, which currently houses some 3,000 troops.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense has stated that the deployment of naval and air assets to Qatar is in accordance with bilateral agreements, with the objective of enhancing joint exercises and advisory activities.
The close cooperation between Erdoğan and Al Thani has led to claims that they are, in fact, business partners. Critics frequently allege that the Erdoğan family is the real owner of factories and companies that Qatari businessmen have recently bought in Turkey.
In 2020, Erdoğan labeled criticism of bilateral economic agreements granting privileges to Qatar as fascism, stating, “When the investor is American or British, there’s no outcry, but when the investor is Qatari, they launch vicious attacks.”
Among other examples, the sale of the BMC armored vehicle factory to Qatari partners at a significantly reduced price in 2014, involving businesspeople close to Erdoğan, was a major topic of debate in Turkey. Opposition claims suggested that the land value of the factory alone exceeded the total sale price.