Minister of Finance H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi, (centre) with Minister of Economy and Commerce H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani (second right); Turkey's Deputy Minister of Trade, Gonca Yilmaz Batur (second left); Tunisia's Minister of Comm
DOHA: Qatar and Turkey, the two strategic allies, are set to sign a significant trade and economic cooperation agreement in early December this year, a Turkish junior minister announced here yesterday.
Gonca Yilmaz Batur, Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Turkey, said that both sides have already completed the negotiations for the important agreement between Qatar and Turkey, which is expected to be signed by the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Batur, in her address at the International Products Exhibition and Conference (IPEC Qatar) said that bilateral trade and economic cooperation is expected to witness a major boost in the coming years, which has already registered sharp growth over the last couple of years.
“The bilateral trade volume between Qatar and Turkey is likely to see a significant jump this year. The combined value of two-way trade exchange is expected to touch $2bn (QR7.28bn) in 2018, registering a 54 percent growth compared to $1.3bn last year” said Batur.
She added: “Turkey and Qatar relationships are not only limited to trade and economic cooperation. We are brotherly countries, and our relations are beyond economic interests. Our relations are based on mutual interests with a win-win situation.”
She praised Qatar’s decision to invest in a host of economic projects, investments, and deposits worth a total of QR55bn ($15bn) to support the Turkish economy.
The Deputy Minister called for deepening the economic relations between Qatar and Turkey and promoting them towards stronger and more resilient prospects.
She reiterated that this would positively affect the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, which has already grown remarkably.
Batur also praised the strategic ties between her country and Qatar that have been developed into a fraternal
relationship, praising in
this regard to the $15bn investment package announced by Qatar.
She stressed that the two countries have developed a solid ground for promoting these investments to contribute to building a long-term economic relationship in the various economic fields.
She highlighted Turkey’s economic and investment advantages and noted that it has witnessed significant growth over the past 15 years. She added that Turkey achieved a growth rate of 7.4 percent in 2017, which was the highest among the G20 countries, following its launch of an economic programme based on stability, discipline and transformation.
“The public-private partnership (PPP) that we are establishing is going to create huge opportunities for companies in both sides to expand and deepen the level of cooperation in the future,” said Batur.
Turkey has the largest number of projects in Europe, and the third largest in terms of the value of projects, which include the third Bosphorus bridge and the third airport in Turkey, which is the biggest project in the world until now,” said Batur.
