New pact targets joint arms production and technology sharing
Pakistan, Turkiye, Qatar and Indonesia have signed a new defence cooperation agreement in Doha, marking a significant step towards closer military-industrial ties among the four countries. The accord, known as the Badr Memorandum of Understanding, was signed on Wednesday by the defence ministers of all four nations, according to Turkiye’s National Defence Ministry, according to The Express Tribune.
The agreement aims to strengthen defensive capabilities and deepen cooperation in military production, technical training, research and development. Turkish officials described it as economically important, saying it would combine the distinct manufacturing strengths of the four countries, improve integration and expand their defence-industrial capacities.
The signatories were Turkiye’s National Defence Minister Yasar Guler, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Hasan Al Thani, Indonesia’s Deputy Defence Minister Yusuf Jauhari and Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif. Haluk Gorgun, head of Turkiye’s Presidency of Defence Industries, also attended the ceremony, reported by the trtworld.
Unlike a formal mutual-defence treaty, the Badr memorandum is primarily an industrial and technological framework. It seeks to move beyond the simple purchase of military equipment towards joint production, technology transfer, interoperability and more closely connected supply chains. Officials said it would build on existing projects and turn the countries’ complementary strengths into concrete initiatives.
The pact reflects Turkiye’s growing ambition to position itself as a major defence partner beyond NATO. Turkish defence exports have expanded rapidly in recent years, with more than $30 billion recorded between 2023 and the first nine months of 2026 — over 55 per cent of the sector’s exports since 2012. Turkiye has also become the world’s 11th-largest arms supplier, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The four countries already share important defence links. Turkiye and Qatar cooperate on armed drones, armoured vehicles and fast attack craft, while Turkish and Qatari firms have established joint production ventures in Qatar. Turkiye and Pakistan have worked together on the Babur-class corvette programme, with two ships built in Istanbul and two in Karachi, transferring shipbuilding expertise to Pakistan.
Turkiye and Indonesia, meanwhile, jointly developed the KAPLAN MT medium tank through Turkish company FNSS and Indonesia’s PT Pindad. Production continues in Indonesia under a technology-transfer arrangement, illustrating the kind of partnership the new memorandum is intended to encourage.
The agreement comes at a time of heightened regional insecurity, with Turkiye deepening defence ties with Gulf states amid the Iran war. In August, Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, under which aggression against one party would be treated as aggression against all.
Turkish officials said the Badr accord would promote security, stability and shared objectives, while helping partner countries develop their own industrial base and technical expertise.__Photo courtesy X (Pakistan Strategic Forum)
