Qatar sign four-nation defence pact amid ‘unprecedented security risks’

The new defence agreement between Qatar, Turkiye, Pakistan and Indonesia focuses on developing cooperation between the four countries’ defence industrial bases, according to Rashid al-Mohanadi, a security and defence analyst.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, al-Mohanadi said the agreement comes amid “unprecedented security risks across the region”, but stressed that efforts to develop domestic defence industries predate the pact by decades.

Al-Mohanadi said there was both a “strategic rationale” and an “economic rationale” for developing domestic defence industries.

“Countries that have domestic defence industry, on average, spend less on defence on the same capabilities compared to countries that have zero defence capability,” he said.

He added that the sector was “a really good diversification vertical you can develop as a hydrocarbon-based economy”.

The strategic rationale, he explained, was “developing capabilities that fit the problem set of the armed forces of the region”.

Source : AL Jazeera