Sheikh Tamim and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also met in Kazakhstan, with Turkiye and Azerbaijan attending the summit as guests.

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev have held official talks in the capital city of Astana, on the sidelines of the annual ​​Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

During the discussions, which took place on Wednesday at the Akorda Presidential Palace, Tokayev “expressed his aspiration to enhance cooperation relations between” Qatar and Kazakhstan.

“The talks dealt with developing and strengthening cooperation relations, in addition to exchanging views on the most prominent regional and international developments of common interest,” the Amiri Diwan said in a statement.

Established on June 15, 2001, the SCO’s permanent members include India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Observer countries include Afghanistan, Belarus, and Mongolia.

While Qatar is not a member of the SCO, it was granted the Dialogue Partner status in September 2021 during the summit in Tajikistan, marking  a new achievement for Qatari diplomacy. 

According to Qatar’s foreign ministry, Doha was among the 19 countries that submitted a request for the status.

The move came a month after Qatar played a pivotal role in carrying out mass evacuations at the time of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on August 15, 2021. 

In a separate statement on Thursday, the Amiri Diwan said Sheikh Tamim and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also met in Kazakhstan, with Turkiye and Azerbaijan attending the summit as guests.

The statement did not disclose further details on the meeting between the Qatari and Turkish leaders, which came on the same day that Hamas consulted both countries as well as Egypt on an amended ceasefire proposal.

Qatar, which hosts a Hamas political office, has been playing a central diplomatic role since the beginning of Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip on October 7. The Gulf state has been an interlocutor between Israel and Hamas in hopes of reaching a ceasefire and a captives release deal.