Turkey’s President Erdogan receives honorary degree from Qatar

Turkey’s president on Wednesday received an honorary doctoral degree during a two-day visit to Qatar, in another sign of warm ties between the countries.

In a Wednesday afternoon ceremony at the Qatar University, Recep Tayyip Erdogan donned a traditional academic gown to receive the doctoral degree – the first given out in the university’s 42-year history.

In the ceremony, university President Hassan al-Derham said that the award handed out to Erdogan comes at a time when “Qatari-Turkish relations witness significant developments,” according to the university’s website.

Erdogan applauds after he received the honorary doctorate. (AP)

During his visit to the Gulf state on Wednesday, the two countries inked over a dozen agreements, including a waiver of visa regimes. Erdogan also announced that Turkey would establish a military in Qatar – Ankara’s first in the region.

Ties between Ankara and Doha deepened in December last year, when the two countries signed a agreement to found a “Supreme Strategic Committee.”

It is not the first time in recent months that Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics since his AKP Party won power in 2002, has received an honorary degree.

Last month, he received an honorary doctorate from the Bayburt University in northeastern Turkey, this time wearing an ornate blue-and-white gown at the ceremony.

Erdogan addresses an audience after he received an honorary doctorate from Bayburt University in Bayburt, Turkey, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. (AP)