Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia signed a deal on Wednesday laying the groundwork for the joint production of military hardware and expanded cooperation in military training, research and development.
Turkey has emerged as a major player in the defence industry, with Turkish companies exporting billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment each year, including drones, air defence systems and armoured vehicles.
Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler and President of Turkish Defence Industries Haluk Gorgun signed the memorandum of understanding in Doha alongside Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Indonesian Deputy Defence Minister Yusuf Jauhari.
Turkey’s defence ministry said in a statement that the agreement would be known as the “Badr deal”, a reference to the Battle of Badr in 624, when the Prophet Muhammad and his followers defeated their opponents in one of Islam’s earliest battles in the Arabian Peninsula.
“Badr means ‘full moon’ - as the four participating nations complement one another through this pact, which holds significant military and economic importance,” the statement said.
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“By leveraging the capabilities of each country in the field of military production, cooperation and integration will be achieved, defence industry capacities will be developed, and the needs of allied and friendly nations can thus be met.”
Strategic board
Sources familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye that the signatories would first identify their respective requirements within their national security frameworks.
An “executive board”, composed of technical teams from each country, would then draw up plans for joint production.
The sources added that these plans would be submitted to a “strategic board” comprising ministers, deputy ministers and defence industry officials. This board would make final decisions on budgets and production locations, paving the way for joint production lines.
Qatar has committed to contributing funding and technology to the initiative, the sources said, citing its urgent needs following the Iran war, which placed considerable pressure on Gulf countries’ air defences.
Joint production facilities are expected to be established in Turkey, which has the region’s most extensive defence industry infrastructure.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, Qatari sources told MEE that the agreement had been shaped by lessons learned from tensions between Qatar and Iran, as well as the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.
They said the partnership would deepen ties with Ankara while addressing Doha’s priority need for cost-effective air defence systems.
The initiative aims to strengthen defence industry ties among the four countries and contribute to security and stability, while building production capacity to meet the needs of allied and friendly nations.
A Turkish defence industry insider told MEE in May that Gulf countries remained interested in future Turkish systems because alternative suppliers, including the United States, faced delivery backlogs of several years for Patriot and Thaad systems and their ammunition.
“They can buy Turkish systems within a similar timeframe, with a potential option for localisation and joint development if the conditions are right,” the insider said.
“And they increasingly recognise that it is a better offer.”
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