File photo of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Sh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani
IIstanbul: The Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamimm bin Hamad Al Thani, visited quake-hit Turkiye on Sunday.
The Emir, who has been maintaining close personal ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met the Turkish counterpart Istanbul.
Qatar has been maintaining particularly friendly relations with Turkiye, more so after the boycott of Qatar by the neighbouring United Arab Emirates which had severely affected trade and tourist ties between the two Gulf nations. During the sanctions, Turkiye had come to the aid of Qatar in many ways, including supplying food and essential commodities to Qatar at an expeditious pace and relieved Qatar of much of the boycott burden. The embargo has been withdrawn since.
The Turkish presidency said in a statement that Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited Turkey over twin deadly earthquakes which hit 10 provinces in the southern part of the country on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The two leaders held a closed-door meeting at the Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul.
Qatar was among the countries which dispatched aid to Turkey.
Meanwhile, the death toll of the earthquakes has climbed to 24,617 in Turkey, with 80,278 injured, according to the latest official figures.