Qatar-Turkey Supreme Strategic Committee to meet
The Qatar-Turkey Supreme Strategic Committee will convene for its sixth meeting in Ankara today.
Relations between the two countries have deepened over the last decade, especially due to adverse pressure from Saudi Arabia and its allies over disagreements about regional conflicts in Syria and Libya as well as Ankara’s and Doha’s mutually warm relations with Tehran. After the Gulf States blocked trade and cut diplomatic relations with Qatar in 2017, the emirate was forced to pursue trade and investment opportunities in Turkey. Last year, Turkey completed construction on a military base in Qatar, expanding its power projection capabilities to the Persian Gulf.
The two countries are expected to sign a number of agreements further linking their defence, energy, education and agricultural sectors. A full-blown defence alliance is unlikely since Turkey, which has ongoing military operations in Syria, the eastern Mediterranean and Libya, will not want to risk its already overstretched military commitments.
There are limits on the Qatari end as well. After the Saudi foreign minister implied a withdrawal of the three-year blockade on Qatar, Doha may be welcomed back into the Gulf states fold, readjusting its difficult balancing act between the three powers of the region.
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