'Turkey-Qatar force command serves stability of region'

DOHA

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday a joint force command of Ankara and Doha serves stability and peace of not only Qatar but also the Gulf region.

"It [Turkey-Qatar Combined Joint Force Command] serves stability and peace of not only Qatar but also the Gulf region," Erdogan said during his visit to Turkish troops at Tariq bin Ziyad -- Muslim commander -- military post in Doha.

Dubbing the command as "the symbol of brotherhood, friendship, solidarity and sincerity," Erdogan said it [this command] has never based on "interests like that of the other countries'.

"We have never left our friends alone in any period of the history against threats and risks, and we never will," he said, and added: "We [Turkey] attribute great importance to peace, security and stability of the Gulf region where we are connected with deep roots".

He also noted that the construction of the new Turkish military post has been completed and it will be named after the famous Muslim commander Khalid bin Walid.

Erdogan said he and the accompanying Turkish officials held "fruitful, successful and sincere" meetings with their counterparts during the day.

"We confirmed our will to strengthen bilateral ties from a strategic perspective, and boosted our cooperation with the new agreements we signed," Erdogan said, referring to the seven deals inked during the meetings.

Following his meetings, Erdogan departed from Qatar.

* Writing by Sena Guler