Doha: Minister of Commerce and Industry H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Thani said that ties between Qatar and Turkiye have improved to a level of partnership, integration, and coordination in all fields.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the Minister said that the two countries’ shared vision on all regional and international issues reflected positively on the volume of trade exchange and fruitful and constructive economic cooperation.
He noted that the trade volume saw significant growth last year, reaching $1.8bn in 2021 to reflect the level coordination and commitment to cooperation between the two countries.
The Minister indicated that trade exchange grew by 80 percent from 2014-2021, adding that both sides are working to increase it above $5bn in the coming years.
The main Qatari exports to Turkiye include unprocessed aluminium, liquefied gas and plastic products. While the most important imports from Turkey come in the fields of building supplies, electrical and electronic equipment, furniture, carpets, building materials, jewellery, and dairy products.
He revealed that one of the most prominent memoranda of understanding to be signed during this session of the Qatari-Turkish Supreme Strategic Committee is a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of property rights protection between the Intellectual Property Rights Protection Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Qatar and Turkish Patent and Trademark Office in the Turkish Republic.
The Minister said that 794 Turkish companies are operating in Qatar, including 758 with Qatari-Turkish joint capital and about 36 companies with 100% Turkish capital.
These companies operate in various vital sectors in the country, including infrastructure, contracting and construction, engineering consultancy, trade, electrical works, auto parts, foodstuffs and other important sectors.
He said that Qatar also hosts annually the ‘Expo Turkiye by Qatar’, with the participation of hundreds of Turkish companies willing to work in the Qatari market.
Established in 2014, the Turkish-Qatari Supreme Strategic Committee has helped enhance relations between the two friendly countries to broader horizons at all levels, the Minister said.
He pointed out that since the establishment of the committee, more than 68 agreements and six joint communiques have been signed in the fields of economy, industry, defence, security, investment, energy, culture, intellectual property, education, youth, economy and other vital areas of cooperation.
The Minister said that Qatar has proposed the establishment of a Turkish Economic Free Zone in the areas supervised by the Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA), which provides unique opportunities to combine Turkish industrial innovation with the global competitive advantages of Qatari economy to enable Turkish investors to access additional markets in India, Asia and Africa.
