Turkey, Qatar sign mutual defence agreement, Turkish presidency says

ISTANBUL, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Turkey and Qatar signed a mutualdefence agreement on Friday, the office of President Tayyip Erdogan said, as the Turkish leader met the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin ‌Hamad al-Thaniin Istanbul.

"PresidentErdogan 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 defence accord.

The statement cited himas saying that Turkey and Qatar were working to develop and diversify their energy partnership, and that their cooperation in the defenceindustry would continue to grow.

"President Erdogan stated that the Mutual Defence Agreement signed today by Turkeyand Qatar would add another dimension to our brotherhood," it added.

In August, Turkey,Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a jointdefence agreement in Mecca, bringing together the Sunni Muslim US allies at a time of conflict across the region.

Turkey's parliament ratified the so-called Mecca Joint Defence Agreement last week,clearing the way for Ankara to send military support to Saudi Arabia, which has been struggling to fend off attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants.

Under the agreement, signed by the three regional powers in August, an attack on one party constitutes an attack on all.

(Reporting by Daren Butler; Editing by Aidan Lewis)