Turkey, Qatar officials talk ties at Doha security meet

By Ahmed Yusuf

DOHA

Turkish Deputy National Defense Minister Muhsin Dere visited a Turkish military base in Qatari capital of Doha, where he will participate in MILIPOL Qatar 2018, a high-profile security exhibition.

Dere met with Turkish soldiers stationed at the headquarters of the Tariq bin Ziyad Base, which was established in line with a 2014 agreement between Turkey and Qatar.

He also visited a Turkish barracks at the base, which is currently under construction.

“We are enhancing [bilateral] cooperation in the field of defense manufacturing and working on forging partnerships between Qatari and Turkish defense manufacturing companies,” Dere told Anadolu Agency from Doha.

“We have held a number of meetings with officials at the [Qatari] Defense Ministry and with top officials at Qatari Defense Holdings [i.e., Barzan Holdings, the investment arm of Qatar’s Defense Ministry],” Dere added.

He went on to note that Turkey currently owns some 50 factories for defense manufacturing.

Doha and Ankara signed a defense agreement in 2014, according to which Turkey -- at Doha’s request -- established a military base in Qatar.

On Tuesday, Celal Uzunkaya, head of Turkey’s security department -- also in Qatar to attend the MILIPOL exhibition -- discussed means of enhancing security cooperation with Qatar.

Accompanied by several Turkish Interior Ministry officials, Uzunkaya visited the headquarters of Qatar’s Police College, where he met college director Mohamed Abdullah al-Mohanna al-Marri.

At the meeting, members of the Turkish delegation discussed means of enhancing bilateral cooperation, especially in terms of security training.

Turkish police personnel have continued to provide training for their Qatari counterparts as part of a series of bilateral protocols and MoUs.

According to Uzunkaya, 512 Qatari police personnel have received training from Turkish police officers.

Uzunkaya also visited Qatar’s Police Training Institute, where 20 Turkish police officers are currently taking a four-month intensive Arabic-language training course.

The 12th annual MILIPOL Qatar exhibition officially kicked off Monday at Doha’s Exhibition and Convention Center. It is slated to wrap up Wednesday evening.