Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the Qatari-Turkish relations have reached an ideal level recently and that the strengthening of these relations is a common goal of the two countries.
The Turkish foreign minister pointed out that there are several diversified sectors in which Qatar and Turkey are co-operating, and that the total volume of projects carried out by Turkish contractors in Qatar since 2002 has reached $17.4bn.
In an interview with Al-Watan newspaper, published yesterday, Cavusoglu said: “The enduring friendship between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani provides a sound basis to enrich our relations.”
“Further advancing the excellent relations between our countries is our common objective. High-level visits provide an important impetus to our relations. Meanwhile, the Qatar-Turkey Supreme Strategic Committee is an excellent basis to boost our ties further in an institutionalised setting,” he said.
Co-operation in the field of defence industry is an important aspect of the bilateral relations between Qatar and Turkey, he said, stressing that this enhances the military capabilities of the Qatar Armed Forces and contributes to the security and stability of the Gulf region.
He also underlined that deployment of Turkish armed forces to Qatar was made pursuant to the bilateral military and defence co-operation agreement signed between Turkey and Qatar in 2014. “Nevertheless, there is still a great potential to further advance our military co-operation, including through technology sharing and joint production,” he added.
Regarding the siege countries’ demand to close the Turkish military base in Qatar as one of their conditions for lifting the blockade, Cavusoglu said: “This demand is both unrealistic and irrelevant. Deployment of Turkish armed forces to Qatar was made pursuant to the bilateral military and defence industry co-operation agreement signed between Turkey and Qatar in 2014, long before the Gulf dispute. Therefore, there is no connection between our military deployment and the current Gulf dispute.”
“The agreement reflects the sovereign decision of our two countries and it is not up to any other country to challenge it. Furthermore, our military deployment is intended to contribute to the stability of the entire Gulf region. Therefore, there is no reason for any country to be concerned with it. Besides, there are similar military bases of other third countries in the Gulf region. Likewise, certain Gulf countries also have military presence in other countries,” the minister said.
About Qatar’s recent pledge to make a $15bn direct investment in Turkey, he said that economic, trade and investment co-operation is an increasingly important component in the two countries’ relations.
“We appreciate the support and solidarity of Qatar in the face of the recent foreign exchange speculation that targeted the Turkish economy. The recent pledge of $15bn of direct investments is a manifestation of Qatar’s confidence in the strength of the Turkish economy,” he underlined, inviting Qatari businessmen to take advantage of the incentives offered by the Turkish authorities to foreign investors and step up their investments in Turkey.
“Our bilateral trade volume was $835mn in 2016. In 2017, it reached $1.3bn with 56% increase. In the first half of this year, we had $695mn bilateral trade volume,” he said. 
“Within the framework of the efforts to further develop our trade relations, the Turkey-Qatar Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement was initialled on 4 September 2018 by the trade ministers of the two countries”, the Turkish foreign minister said.
The agreement is expected to be signed during the Fourth Session of the Supreme Strategic Committee between Turkey and Qatar, which will be held in November in Turkey, he said, pointing out that the agreement aims at providing customs duties exemption for many products, and will contribute significantly to increase the bilateral trade volume to desired levels.
With regard to Turkish companies’ help for Qatar in its preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he said: “The total volume of projects carried out by Turkish contractors in Qatar since 2002 has exceeded $17.4bn. We appreciate the kind support provided for the Turkish contractors by our Qatari brothers at all levels. However, this number constitutes only 4.1% of the projects undertaken by the Turkish contractors all over the world.”
He also stressed: “Since 1972, Turkish contractors have undertaken approximately 9,400 projects in 121 countries. Among those projects, our companies completed stadium projects in Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Kazakhstan, Libya, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and lastly in Russia before the World Cup 2018. With this vast experience, we firmly believe that Turkish construction companies can contribute significantly to the 2022 FIFA World Cup infrastructure and capabilities.”
Furthermore, Cavusoglu expressed hope to sign a memorandum of understanding on co-operation for research and development activities in the field of transportation and information technologies between the ministry of transportation and infrastructure of Turkey and its Qatari counterpart during the fourth session of the Supreme Strategic Committee between Turkey and Qatar.
Regarding the scientific and technological co-operation with Qatar, he said: “We have two documents signed in 2015 and 2017, respectively to collaborate on projects in areas of mutual interest. These agreements make the exchange of research and knowledge possible between Turkey and Qatar. They also include scholarships for students and establishing research centres in Turkey and Qatar that will help joint work for developing advanced technologies for scientists and engineers. Within the framework of these documents, Turkey’s leading Research agency TUBITAK and Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) are working together and conducting reciprocal visits to further our bilateral relations. We have started our co-operation in the field of cyber security. We hope to expand the scope of joint activities, as well as the areas of collaboration into a number of new fields and several more programmes.”
Moreover, Cavusoglu noted that Turkey “has become one the most favourite destinations for Qatari tourists. Along with the effects of the blockade on Qatar, the number of Qatari tourists who visited Turkey during the January-July 2018 period reached 52,851 with 123% increase compared to the same period of 2017. 
On the current siege imposed on Qatar by a number of GCC countries, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Qatar has overcome the effects of the siege and continued its economic growth and development, and as a sister country, Turkey will continue to support Qatar as long as the siege continues.
“We are seriously concerned about the current impasse among the brotherly Gulf countries. The resolution of this dispute should not be delayed any further. The crisis has paralysed the GCC, which constitutes the bedrock for the security and stability of the region. As a strategic partner of the GCC, we have serious concerns about the current situation,” Cavusoglu added.
On its part, Turkey has offered to provide its good offices for the resolution of this unfortunate dispute, he said, adding: “We have conducted an active phone and shuttle diplomacy to contribute to the international efforts to resolve this issue peacefully and without delay. We have also wholeheartedly supported the sincere efforts of Kuwait to mediate among the parties. We are pleased that Qatar has approached favourably to these mediation efforts.”
 Kuwait was able to successfully mediate among the parties during a similar situation in 2014. “So we remain optimistic that the ongoing dispute will also be settled soon,” the foreign minister pointed out. 
He underlined that the existing deadlock serves nobody’s interest in the Gulf region, and that sooner or later the countries in the region will realise this fact, then they will be more supportive of the efforts to resolve this problem. “Obviously, the sooner this is realised, the better it will be for the stability and security of our region”, he stressed. 
Regarding Turkish-US relations, he said: “Turkey and the US have wide-ranging areas of co-operation, shared interests and common challenges. Turkey will continue to approach the US in a constructive manner. Nato membership is the cornerstone of our security and defence policies.” 
On Turkey’s relationship with Russia, Cavusoglu noted: “Russia is an important country in our region. We have close economic and cultural ties since we have been living side by side for centuries.”
Regarding the S-400 deal, he said: “We do not have any intention to send messages to any country. This deal is purely related to our immediate security needs and how to meet them. Due to pressing security concerns, purchasing the S-400 missile systems from Russia has stood out as the only option for us.”
On the Syrian crisis, the Turkish foreign minister said: “We want to see our neighbour Syria as a stable, peaceful, prosperous and democratic country that is governed in line with the legitimate aspirations of its people.”
“We are working with the other guarantors and the UN Special Envoy for Syria to start the Constitutional Committee’s work as soon as possible,” Cavusoglu said, stressing that the Syrian regime’s threat over Idlib had put the prospect of a political solution in danger and that any military victory, pursued by the regime, will not bring a lasting solution to the conflict.





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