Qatar, Turkey to hold strategic dialogue in Doha this week

Source: Amiri Diwan

The previous meetings resulted in the signing of 10 memoranda between the two countries.

The seventh annual Qatar-Turkey Strategic Dialogue is scheduled to take place on Tuesday in Doha, Turkish ambassador to the Gulf state Mustafa Goksu told Al Jazeera on Sunday.

In a statement sent to the media outlet, Goksu said that the upcoming strategic dialogue between Doha and Ankara will witness the signing of more agreements in various fields.

This includes culture, trade and investment, relief, youth and sports, event organisation, diplomacy, development, and health.

Qatar and Turkey signed 10 agreements during last year’s dialogue, which took place in Ankara and was co-chaired by Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Qatar and Turkey ink 10 new deals in latest round of ‘Strategic Dialogue’ meetings

President Erdogan is scheduled to arrive in Qatar on Monday ahead of this year’s Strategic Dialogue meetings. The Turkish leader is also planning an official visit to the United Arab Emirates in February, after hosting Emirati Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan [MBZ] last month.

The Strategic Dialogue enhances Qatar and Turkey’s ties and witnessed the signing of over 60 agreements, as Goksu told Al Jazeera.

Qatar-Turkey relations

Qatar and Turkey have been allies since 1972, with relations growing increasingly stronger in the past years, especially since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt imposed an illegal blockade on Qatar in 2017.

In 2015, Turkey established a military base with around 3,000 troops in Qatar led by the Qatar-Turkey Combined Joint Force Command. The base was previously described by the the former blockading quartet as a “source of instability.”

In June, reports said Turkey was preparing to train Qatari fighter pilots and allow the temporary deployment of up to 36 Qatari military aircraft and 250 personnel, according to a document obtained by monitoring and news site Nordic Monitor.

More recently, technical teams from both nations helped operate the civilian side of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport following the foreign troop withdrawal from Afghanistan on 31 August.

Economically, the trade volume between Doha and Ankara has increased by 6%, reaching $1.6 billion during the past 12 months.

Qatar’s total investments in Turkey have now reached $22 billion, with 533 Turkish companies operating in the Gulf country in numerous projects that are worth at least $18.5 billion. In turn, 179 Qatari companies currently operate in Turkey.

On Saturday, President Erdogan inaugurated the biggest Zinc production facility in the southeastern province of Siirt with a Qatari partnership. The facility’s worth stands at up to $102 million.


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