Türkiye on Saturday submitted a memorandum to Parliament to deploy soldiers to Qatar to provide security during World Cup 2022 in late November, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.
It follows a request from Qatar for security support during the competition, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a letter on Saturday about the legislature.
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) personnel will help secure the tournament, which is expected to attract more than 1 million visitors, against "terrorism" threats among others, the request letter read.
Helping Qatar – with which Turkey has an "exceptional cooperation" and "historical, cultural ties" – will help stability in the Gulf region as well, it added.
“In addition to our country, the U.S., France, the U.K., Italy and Pakistan will contribute to the World Cup Shield Operation with their military elements.”
Under a protocol signed between Türkiye and Qatar and published in Türkiye’s Official Gazette earlier this summer, Ankara will deploy riot police, bomb specialists and sniffer dogs for the World Cup, which will run between Nov. 21 and Dec. 18.
More than 3,000 Turkish riot police would be deployed to secure the event, according to the Interior Ministry.
It was not immediately clear if the troop mandate was related to the police deployment plans.