Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Qatar Monday on his first official trip to an Arab country since Ankara’s forces intervened in northeast Syria last month against Kurdish fighters.

Ankara and Doha have grown closer since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with their former Gulf ally more than two years ago.

However, Erdogan’s visit comes at a critical time amid signs of a possible breakthrough in the crisis between Qatar and its neighbors — in what could be pushing Ankara to further bolster its political and economic relations with Doha.

Erdogan will attend the fifth meeting of the Qatar-Turkey Higher Strategic Committee at the invitation of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Qatar News Agency reported.

The two countries are expected to sign a number of deals during Erdogan’s third visit to Qatar since the Saudi-led blockade began in June 2017, which led to rising Turkish influence in Doha.

Source: AFP