Erdogan receives Qatari Emir in Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday received the Emir of Qatar, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Istanbul to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues.

The Emir of Qatar arrived in Turkey yesterday from Tehran, where he met with Iranian officials and offered to intervene to save the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers, even as the negotiations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in Vienna on the Iranian nuclear program continue to reach a dead end.

It is widely believed that Al-Thani also carries a rescue plan for the regime of President Erdogan, an ally similar to Iran. The Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah quoted the Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Ankara, Sheik Mohammed bin Nasser bin Jassim Al-Thani, as saying, the day before yesterday: The visit of the Emir of Qatar to Turkey will achieve continuous coordination and a major convergence in bilateral relations and important issues, he did not clarify what those issues were, noting that the Emir’s visit to Turkey coincided with a period in which the world is passing through major challenges and difficult times at all levels, and this requires constructive cooperation and an exchange of views on this issue, as well as regional and international developments in order to confront and address these challenges.

The visit comes in the wake of two of the most violent attacks in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula since the beginning of 2020. The Egyptian authorities have in the past accused Qatar and Turkey of being behind these attacks, especially since the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel was the only media outlet to detail the attacks, which were stopped throughout Ankara’s efforts to reconcile with Egypt.

Last December, Turkey and Qatar signed 15 different agreements to enhance cooperation between the two countries, while Erdogan and Al-Thani met in Doha to chair the seventh meeting of Turkey – the Supreme Strategic Committee of the State of Qatar.

Military relations between the two countries were strengthened in June 2017, as the Military Cooperation Agreement entered into force after it was ratified by the Turkish Parliament and adopted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Under the agreement, a Turkish military base was established in Qatar and joint training was carried out.