The Gulf state and Turkey have long cooperated in numerous fields.
Qatar University (QU) and Turkish Aerospace agreed to strengthen their cooperation in research and engineering through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on Tuesday.
The signing took place during the seventh annual Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX), which kicked off on Monday and will take place until Wednesday in the Gulf state.
QU’s President Dr. Hassan Rashid Al-Derham said that the educational institution is proud to collaborate with the Turkish entity, saying that the MoU will “open doors” to future opportunities.
Speaking to Doha News, President and CEO of Turkish Aerospace Dr. Temel Kotil, said that he hopes to recruit more engineers from Qatar for his entity through the agreement. The young engineers would help the organisation develop cutting edge technology and fifth generation fighters.
The fifth generation combat aircraft was inaugurated in January by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“What we want to do is open an engineering office at Qatar University, put my engineers from Türkiye to team up with the students,” said Dr. Kotil, explaining that the students would get the chance to work for Turkish Aerospace at least once a week.
The professor explained that he hopes to hire 100 engineers from Qatar, adding to the 1,000 students they recruit in Türkiye on an annual basis.
As part of Doha and Ankara’s strong ties which date back to 1972, the two countries have collaborated in numerous sectors.
Currently, there are 1,600 students from Qatar studying in Türkiye as both countries aim to widen their cultural exchange. QU also welcomed 30 students from Türkiye this year.
Beyond the education sector, Doha and Ankara share strong defence ties, with maritime agreements signed at previous DIMDEX editions.
During the 2014 edition, the Qatar Coast Guard Services ordered 17 fast patrol boats from Türkiye’s ARES Shipyard. The deal entailed ten ARES 110 Hercules, five ARES 75 Hercules, and two ARES 150 Hercules.
In 2018, the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces QENF ordered two cadet training ships from Türkiye’s shipbuilder, Anadolu Shipyard.
Qatar received its first shipment, the QTS 91 Al Doha, in 2021. The Al Doha ship is believed to be the largest ship to be built in Türkiye for another country .
The second ship, QTS 92 A-Shamal, was delivered in February this year.
Last year, Qatar inaugurated the “Al Abrar Fuwairit” (type LCT80) warship, which had the overall length of 80 metres, armed with 30mm guns and two 12.7mm STAMP guns, both manufactured by Turkish defence giant, Aselsan.
The ship also has the ability to carry three battle tanks.
Expanding the countries bilateral defence ties, Türkiye is set to dispatch some 3,000 members of its riot police units to Qatar for the FIFA World Cup 2022.
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