Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia signed an agreement in Doha on Wednesday to boost defence cooperation and strengthen their defensive capabilities, the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement reported by Reuters.

The ministry said the countries signed the 'Badr Memorandum of Understanding' as a sign of their desire to deepen cooperation and develop partnerships. The accord seeks to foster cooperation in military production, boost military capabilities, and support collaboration in technical military training, research and development, and military exercises, the ministry said.

"By leveraging the unique military production capabilities of each country, the initiative will facilitate cooperation and integration, enhance defense industrial capacities, and enable the fulfillment of the needs of allied and friendly nations," the ministry added, saying the agreement also holds substantial economic importance.

Turkey, which has NATO's second-largest army and a large defence industry, has been helping Gulf nations including Qatar — where it has a military base — bolster their defences amid the Iran war, Reuters noted. In August, Turkey signed a mutual defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, under which an attack on one party is treated as an attack on all. Ankara also has close defence-industry ties with Indonesia.

Sources: Reuters (reporting from Ankara, October 21), citing the Turkish Defence Ministry statement; syndicated copies carried by SRN News and Devdiscourse.