ALBAWABA- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan began a three-day diplomatic tour of the Gulf states starting today in Kuwait before continuing to Qatar and Oman, in a bid to deepen economic, security, and energy cooperation following the Gaza ceasefire.
Erdoğan was received in Kuwait by Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, where the two leaders signed multiple agreements on investment, technology transfer, and defense cooperation.
The visit, made at the invitation of the Gulf leaders, comes as Ankara seeks to expand partnerships with wealthy Gulf economies to ease domestic financial pressures and strengthen regional influence.
Erdoğan is accompanied by senior ministers and business leaders, underscoring the economic focus of the trip. In Doha and Muscat, the Turkish leader is expected to pursue similar deals, including discussions over Turkey’s potential purchase of 24 used Eurofighter jets from Qatar, with UK mediation to modernize Ankara’s air force.
Erdoğan’s Gulf tour builds on a series of high-profile visits to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar in recent years, which helped mend strained ties and secured multibillion-dollar investments in infrastructure, defense, and energy.
Those engagements marked a turning point in Turkey’s regional diplomacy, signaling a pivot toward Gulf investors as Ankara seeks to diversify away from Russian energy and trade dependencies.
This latest outreach gains added importance in the aftermath of the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire, brokered under U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, with mediation by Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey.
Erdoğan has cast Turkey as a key player in post-war reconstruction, advocating for a united Arab-Turkish front to sustain the truce and advance the two-state solution. During talks in Kuwait, he emphasized the “critical importance of safeguarding peace” and invited Gulf partners to join in Gaza’s rebuilding, where Turkey plans to contribute infrastructure expertise and funding.
The trip also comes amid heightened regional tensions following Israel’s September 9 airstrikes on Doha, which killed five Hamas negotiators and rattled Gulf capitals. Erdoğan condemned the attack as a “violation of sovereignty” and an act that “undermines regional peace,” urging stronger collective defense coordination among Muslim and Arab states.
