Turkey, Qatar sign deals during Erdogan's visit to Doha

By Enes Kaplan

DOHA, Qatar (AA) - Turkey and Qatar signed several cooperation agreements during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visit to capital Doha on Wednesday.

Erdogan arrived in Qatar late Tuesday as part of his tour to Gulf states that began Monday with a visit to Kuwait.

He met Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani before witnessing the signing of agreements at the 3rd High Strategic Committee meeting.

The agreements included a memorandum of understanding on central banking, tourism and judicial education; a declaration of intention in meteorological field; cooperation agreements on “friendly harbors” and “criminal subjects" as well as media, technology and humanitarian assistance issues.

The Qatari emir had given a warm welcome to the president and hosted him for an official reception at Emir-i Diwan government complex.

Turkey backs Qatar in the Gulf crisis that was triggered in June when Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the U.A.E. and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar.

The four states accuse Qatar of supporting terrorist groups -- the allegations Doha denies, describing the embargo as a breach of its national sovereignty.