Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seen during a ceremony marking the 94th anniversary of Republic Day on October 29, 2017 at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey. Mehmet Ali Özcan / Anadolu Agency
President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will visit Doha in December this year to co-chair the Third Session of Supreme Strategic Committee between Qatar and Turkey.
Addressing the gathering at a reception to celebrate the National Day of the Republic of Turkey, Turkish Ambassador Fikret Ozer said that the third session of Supreme Strategic Committee between Qatar and Turkey would be held in Doha in December 2017 for which President Recep Tayyip Edrogan will visit Qatar.
He said that the excellent relations between Turkey and Qatar in every field had been carried forward after the siege in accordance with instructions of Turkish President and H H the Emir. “The first meeting of Supreme Strategic Committee between Turkey and Qatar was held in December 2015 in Doha; the second meeting was held in Trabzon in December 2016; now the third meeting will be held in December this year in Doha,” he said, adding that within the scope of these strategic relations between two countries, around 30 agreements had been signed and the number would touch 40 in 2017. He said that Turkish people preferred peace to the war and had adopted the words of Great Ataturk “peace at home, peace abroad”.
“We shape our foreign policy in accordance with our values. Due to this, we say ‘stop’ to the atrocities against Syrian people, confront separation of Iraq and go ahead following the same direction for the Gulf crisis.”
The ambassador further said: “As a result of this understanding, we see the State of Qatar as a country that should be backed due to its contributions to the global system and (we) try to give every necessary support against injustices to which Qatar has been exposed.” He said that Turkey had the aim to enhance bilateral trade volume which was currently $1bn and “we will extend our trade relations to every field.”
“We do not limit our bilateral cooperation to political, economic and cultural fields only as we attach a great importance to the security of Qatar for the security of the region.”
Within this scope, the ambassador said, Turkey was providing necessary support to Qatar to ensure security of Qatari brothers with the presence of Turkish soldiers in Doha. “Considering the State of Qatar as one of the leading friendly and brotherly countries in the region, Turkey preferred to develop bilateral cooperation with Qatar in education field as well. Yunus Emre Cultural Centre was opened in 2015 while Turkish school was inaugurated in 2016.”
The ambassador said that as many as 84 students were studying various courses at Yunus Emre Cultural Centre while Turkish School was providing education opportunity to approximately 100 students in its second year.
