Qatar and Turkey to enhance cooperation with recent deals

Turkey and Qatar have signed 10 new bilateral agreements after the sixth meeting of the Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee, held in the capital Ankara.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chaired the joint cooperation committee meeting in the presence of a high-level delegation of the two countries to further reinforce the ties between them.

Several memorandums of understanding (MOU) were signed to strengthen cooperation in fields of politics, economy, investments, defence, energy, education and sports. Some major agreements include establishment of Turkey- Qatar free trade zone commission, transfer program for diplomats, water administration, improved economic and monetary cooperation, and family and social services.

The promotional activities between Turkey's Commerce Ministry and Qatar's Free Zone Administration will help private sectors to facilitate free zones in both countries and increase mutual investments. Turkey also proposed a specialized free zone model to strengthen investments for technological and value-added products to boost the Qatari business sector.

The countries have made 62 treaties and five joint declarations, including the latest agreements.

The trade volume has increased by 6 per cent to $1.6 billion between the two countries and Qatari investments in Turkey have reached $22 billion, according to the Turkish Embassy in Doha. A total of 553 Turkey companies function in Qatar, and almost 179 Qatari companies are carrying out operations in Turkey.

The number of Qatari tourists visiting Turkey has been rising over the years, with 110,000 in 2019 from 30,000 in 2016.