ISTANBUL: Turkey and Qatar signed a mutual defense agreement on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office said, after the president 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 defense 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 defense industry would continue to grow.

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