Doha: Seventh meeting of the Qatar-Turkey Supreme Strategic Committee will take place in Doha on December 7. A number of agreements in the fields of culture, trade, investment, relief, youth, sports, event organisation, diplomacy, development and health are expected to be signed at the meeting.
“The forthcoming meeting will be presided by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and President of the Republic of Turkey H E Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” said Ambassador of Turkey to Qatar, H E Mustafa Goksu.
He said a high level delegation comprising ministers, parliamentarians and businessmen led by Turkish President will participate in the 7th meeting which will last two days.
“Since the establishment of Supreme Strategic Committee, over 60 agreements and six joint statements were signed in the fields of economy, industry, defence, security, investment, energy, culture, intellectual property, education, youth and economy, and other vital areas of cooperation,” said the Ambassador.
He said Turkey and Qatar are taking full care to implement and accomplish all clauses of agreements signed during the previous meetings, the results of which, he said, are clearly visible.
“We are confident that the new agreements will strengthen and increase our bilateral ties, especially as they come in light of a state of calm, openness and reconciliation in the region, and therefore any bilateral development between Doha and Ankara will necessarily reflect on growth and stability in the GCC and the Middle East.”
On the economic and trade relations between the two countries, he said, “The relations are witnessing great development and an unparalleled boom, as the volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached nearly $2bn in 2020.”
He said Turkey’s main exports to Qatar are in the areas of construction supplies, electrical and electronic equipment, furniture, carpets, building materials, jewellery, and dairy products, while the most important imports from Qatar to Turkey come in the areas of unprocessed aluminium, liquefied gas (LNG), and plastic products.
“There are 183 companies with Qatari capital operating in Turkey, while there are 711 Turkish companies operating in Qatar, including 47 companies with 100% Turkish capital, in addition to 15 companies registered in the Qatar Free Zone,” said the Ambassador. He said the value of Qatari investments in Turkey reached $33.2bn as of December 2020.
On Turkish investments in Qatar, he added, “According to the data of the Turkish Central Bank, the current value of our country’s investments in Qatar is $32m.”
“The total value of the projects implemented by the Turkish contracting industry in Qatar amounted to $18.6bn, and Qatar is the eighth country in which most projects are implemented outside Turkey.”
He said the value of projects implemented by Turkish companies in Qatar amounted to $1.2bn in 2019 and $567m in 2020.
“I tell Qatari investors that the increase in prices resulting from the appreciation of the exchange rate does not directly affect investment, production and employment; rather, the competitive exchange rate brings an increase in investment and employment.”
“Qatar and Turkey converge on many issues, most notably the war crisis in Syria, the tense political situation in Libya, and the field of combating terrorism, and Turkey and Qatar are great partners on their way to implementing all the agreements signed between them,” said the Ambassador. He said there is also cooperation between Turkey and Qatar on FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, whether at the level of infrastructure or the security field, as the two countries signed a security cooperation protocol aimed at cooperating in securing the World Cup, and exchanging experiences in this regard.
