Qatar has held military exercises with Turkish troops, demonstrating one of its strong alliances after two weeks of economic isolation imposed by some of its neighbours, Reuters said. Qatar’s Al Jazeera news channel showed footage of a column of armoured personnel carriers flying the Turkish flag inside the Tariq Bin Ziyad battalion camp in Doha.
According to the official Qatar News Agency (QNA), the Turkish troops arrived in Doha on Sunday to participate in joint exercises as part of agreements signed between Qatar and Turkey. The Ministry of Defence’s Directorate of Moral Guidance announced that the forces started their first military exercise at the Tariq Bin Ziyad camp.
The exercises, which have been planned for some time, come within the framework of the joint defence agreement signed between Doha and Ankara, which aims to raise the defence capabilities of both sides through joint exercises in order to strengthen efforts to combat terrorism and maintain security and stability in the region, QNA said.
In a show of support for Qatar, Turkey’s parliament fast-tracked legislation on June 7 to allow more troops to be deployed to a military base in Qatar that houses about 90 Turkish soldiers under an agreement signed in 2014.
Turkey has said it will deploy 3,000 ground troops at the base, primarily to serve as a venue for joint training exercises.
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