Turkey becomes the designated cyber support for Qatar Bilateral agreements signed in Technology
The trajectory of Qatar-Turkey relations has witnessed a steady growth especially in the last few years. The rising tensions in the Middle East and its corresponding effect on cyber safety has led to various countries preparing for honed cyber capabilities while Qatar has found its cyber support from one its most trusted allies, Turkey.
Now and then, Qatar has been in limelight for its controversial relations with the strong Saudi Arabia-UAE led bloc which gauged worldwide attention due to the 5th June 2017 diplomatic blockade. Since then, Turkey, which also have had tensions with Saudi Arabia, has been playing an important role in supporting cyber operations led by Qatar.
The QNA hacking that could have played a crucial role in discrediting Qatar on world forum was defended by a major favor done by Turkey to Qatar by detaining five suspects in connection with the hacking of Qatar’s state news agency in May. For which, Qatar was all praises. “Our friends in Turkey answered us a short time ago. Five people were detained and they are being investigated,” said then Qatar’s Attorney General Ali Bin Fetais al-Marri.
The act of need by Turkey became a base for various bilateral agreements signed between the two countries. The most recent visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to attend the fifth meeting of the Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee has further strengthen their relationship as they signed strategic agreements on areas of development including economy, urbanization, trade, industry, technology and standardization.
The presence of Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank and other Turkish officials at the ceremony to sign the agreements suggests that a major section of the meeting was based on enhancing Qatar cyber capabilities to sustain its developmental position in the region as well.
The consistent growth in Turkey and Qatar’s relations in the past and present, underlining the geopolitical situations, make it quite evident that Turkey is the best possible ally for Qatar to boost its cyber capabilities in order to defend itself in the region.
