Turkey-Qatar force command serves stability of region: Erdoğan

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday arrived in Qatar to attend the 5th meeting of the Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee.

Turkish leader paid an official visit to Qatar on November 25, 2019 at the invitation of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Ankara and Doha have grown closer since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with their former Gulf ally more than two years ago.

"TURKEY-QATAR FORCE COMMAND SERVES STABILITY OF REGION"
Erdoğan said Monday a joint force command of Ankara and Doha serves stability and peace of not only Qatar but also the Gulf region.

"It [Turkey-Qatar Combined Joint Force Command] serves stability and peace of not only Qatar but also the Gulf region," Erdoğan said during his visit to Turkish troops at Tariq bin Ziyad -- Muslim commander -- military post in Doha.

Dubbing the command as "the symbol of brotherhood, friendship, solidarity and sincerity," Erdoğan said it [this command] has never based on "interests like that of the other countries'.

"We have never left our friends alone in any period of the history against threats and risks, and we never will," he said, and added: "We [Turkey] attribute great importance to peace, security and stability of the Gulf region where we are connected with deep roots".

The president also noted that the construction of the new Turkish military post has been completed and it will be named after the famous Muslim commander Khalid bin Walid.

Erdoğan said he and the accompanying Turkish officials held "fruitful, successful and sincere" meetings with their counterparts during the day.

"We confirmed our will to strengthen bilateral ties from a strategic perspective, and boosted our cooperation with the new agreements we signed," Erdoğan said, referring to the seven deals inked during the meetings.

Following his meetings, Erdoğan departed from Qatar.

TURKEY, QATAR INK 7 AGREEMENTS TO BOOST TIES
Seven agreements have been inked Monday between Ankara and Doha with the attendance of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

Following bilateral meeting by Erdoğan and Al-Thani in Doha, an agreement signing ceremony was held after inter-delegation working meal.

The Joint Statement of 5th meeting of Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee between Turkey and Qatar was signed by Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.

The agreements in the fields of economy, urbanization, trade, industry, technology, and standardization, among others, were signed to boost bilateral relations.

Turkish Central Bank Governor Murat Uysal, Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank and other Turkish officials were present in the ceremony to ink the agreements along with their Qatari counterparts.

The Turkish delegation also included Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu, Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın, and Hakan Fidan, head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).