Qatar’s emir Al Thani heads to Turkey for talks with Erdogan

Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani headed to Turkey on Wednesday for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is dealing with deteriorating relations with the United States. Al Thani and Erdogan are expected to discuss “means of strengthening the existing strategic cooperation between the two countries in various fields,” according to the state news agency QNA. Ankara stood by Doha after Saudi Arabia and other Arab states severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar last year, accusing it of financing terrorism, a charge Doha denies. Turkey, which has a military base in Qatar, rushed through supplies to the Gulf state after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt imposed the boycott. Qatar’s banking sector has considerable exposure to Turkey, whose currency has lost nearly 40 percent this year, Reuters said.