UNIPATH STAFF
Serving as a testament to the robust relations binding the two Middle Eastern countries, Qatar has signed 15 memoranda of understanding with Turkey cementing bilateral collaboration in trade, security, military, tourism, education, investment, development, finance, culture, youth, sports events, diplomacy, health care, religious affairs and media.
This was the outcome of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-day visit to Doha and his meeting with His Highness Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani that was organized by the Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee.
“As Turkey, we are in favor of continuing our cooperation, solidarity and further relations with all Gulf countries by getting stronger,” Erdogan said in a speech delivered during his visit to Doha in December 2021. “We do not separate the security and stability of Qatar from that of our own country.”
In December 2014, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim and Erdogan signed an agreement to launch a supreme strategic committee represented by the two countries. Under the agreement, several state and private institutions were tasked to develop plans to further bilateral partnerships. The committee’s first meeting, held in Doha in 2015, witnessed the signing of 16 agreements.
On regional and international issues, Qatar and Turkey are close partners in their contributions to humanitarian aid and the global effort to find peaceful solutions to several conflicts, including those in Syria and Afghanistan.
Qatar and Turkey established bilateral relations in 1972, and trade relations between the two countries have improved dramatically in recent years. Qatar has signed agreements with Turkey to export liquefied natural gas, while several Turkish construction companies won contracts with the Qatari government, many of which are pertinent to 2022 FIFA World Cup projects. To facilitate financial and commercial relations between the two countries, Doha tripled currency exchanges with Turkey, rising to $15 billion in 2020.
Most importantly, Qatar and Turkey maintain strong military-to-military ties, participating in joint and bilateral exercises and signing numerous security agreements under which Turkey trains Qatari troops and exports military equipment. In 2017, Turkey inaugurated Khalid bin al-Walid military base in Qatar, at which thousands of Turkish troops are now stationed.
Sources: Aljazeera.com, the Qatari Embassy to Turkey