How Qatar, Turkiye, Pakistan and Indonesia are deepening defence ties

Qatar, Turkiye, Pakistan and Indonesia signed a woody connected Wednesday to deepen their defence manufacture cooperation, reflecting a broader effort by countries successful the portion to widen their web of information partners amid the prolonged US-Israel warfare with Iran.

The 4 countries signed the memorandum of knowing successful Doha, gathering connected existing subject projects done associated production, exertion transfers and much intimately integrated proviso chains.

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The inaugural comes arsenic the nonaccomplishment of the United States and Iran to scope a factual bid statement pushes countries successful the portion to diversify their defence partnerships and look beyond what experts described arsenic an overreliance connected Washington for their security. But they accent that person practice does not mean abandoning long-standing alliances. Instead, the ambition is to summation greater power implicit their ain information portion strengthening pre-existing partnerships.

Arda Mevlutoglu, a defence manufacture expert and managing manager of Mergen Analytical Strategies, told Al Jazeera that the implications could widen good beyond the 4 participants.

“We whitethorn beryllium witnessing the emergence of an interconnected web of defence and information arrangements extending from the Gulf to South and Southeast Asia, alternatively than a azygous ceremonial alliance,” helium said.

The multilateral ‘Badr’ statement was signed successful the Qatari capital, Doha, connected Wednesday, October 21, 2026 [Handout/ Ministry of Defence via Al Jazeera]

What would the statement do?

In a statement, the Qatari Defence Ministry said the “Badr” Memorandum of Understanding “aims to foster practice successful the tract of defence manufacturing, heighten defence capabilities among the 4 countries, and beforehand collaboration successful method defence training, arsenic good arsenic successful probe and improvement areas, thereby contributing to the instauration of solutions and industries worthy of the improvement of modern defences”.

Experts accidental that nether the agreement, each state volition bring its ain resources oregon acceptable of skills to the table. “Turkiye contributes technological expertise, systems integration and a mature defence industry; Pakistan and Indonesia connection manufacturing capacity, skilled workforces and sizeable home markets; and Qatar provides concern imaginable and demand,” said Mevlutoglu.

Together, the 4 nations could “establish integrated proviso chains, allowing these countries to jointly develop, manufacture and prolong defence systems”, helium told Al Jazeera.

Such arrangements could springiness buyers a larger relation successful producing and supporting their ain equipment, portion providing manufacturers with longer-term orders and investment. Albert Vidal, a probe subordinate astatine the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Al Jazeera that Pakistan and Indonesia were some consenting to acquisition Turkish weapons and find portion of their accumulation astatine home.

This could bring down costs for Turkish companies and bring jobs to Pakistan and Indonesia, portion Qatar brings “financial depth”, helium said.

Building connected existing partnerships

Turkiye, location to 1 of the world’s astir precocious defence sectors, already has subject manufacturing ties with Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia separately. Qatar and Turkiye, for instance, signed a bilateral defence manufacture memorandum successful October 2025.

But Vidal says that the caller agreement, bringing unneurotic each 4 nations, points to a strategic calculation alongside an concern one. Closer relationships could springiness much countries a involvement successful each other’s security. He pointed to Qatar’s concern successful the Turkish defence manufacture implicit much than a decennary and Ankara’s deployment of forces to Doha during the 2017 diplomatic crisis.

Pakistan’s existing naval manufacturing task with Turkiye, meanwhile, shows however weapons purchases tin enactment home manufacturing. Of the 4 ships announced nether the project, two are to beryllium built successful Istanbul and 2 astatine Karachi Shipyard.

Indonesia and Turkiye, meanwhile, are jointly gathering a tank.

“The rationale is to streamline these chiseled defence export and associated accumulation agreements nether a much structured and resilient networked hub, alternatively than reinvent the instrumentality with each caller defence agreement,” Burcu Ozcelik, a elder probe chap astatine the Royal United Services Institute, told Al Jazeera.

Less dependence connected Washington?

The US-Israeli warfare with Iran and caller Houthi attacks connected Saudi Arabia person heightened determination information concerns, analysts say, portion reported US weapons shortages whitethorn beryllium adding urgency to efforts to fortify pre-existing partners and bolster home arms-building capacity.

“Diversification is simply a large driver, peculiarly arsenic caller conflicts person exposed vulnerabilities associated with dependence connected overseas suppliers, exertion restrictions and proviso concatenation disruptions,” Mevlutoglu said.

But helium cautioned against interpreting the memorandum arsenic a interruption with Washington. “Qatar is improbable to wantonness its strategical narration with Washington, portion Turkiye seeks greater technological independency wrong NATO, not autonomy from it,” helium said.

According to Bader Mousa Al-Saif, an subordinate chap with Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme and an adjunct prof astatine Kuwait University, the inaugural reflects Gulf countries progressively looking towards the Global South and chap Muslim countries.

It besides complements a abstracted effort to formalise subject practice crossed the region, analysts say. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement successful August, establishing a communal defence commitment. Ankara submitted the statement to parliament for ratification connected Wednesday, though deploying Turkish troops overseas would necessitate abstracted parliamentary approval.

The Doha memorandum concerns concern practice alternatively than a communal defence pledge, but Mevlutoglu sees a transportation betwixt the 2 initiatives. “While Mecca focuses connected corporate deterrence and subject cooperation, Doha could supply the concern and technological foundations for specified partnerships,” helium said.