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The Logistics Department of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) yesterday signed an agreement with Turkey’s Ares Shipyard Ltd to build and deliver 17 fast patrol boats, worth about QR800mn, with a view to enhancing the capabilities of the Coast and Border Security Department (CBSD).
The contract was signed by Brigadier Abdulaziz Abdullah al-Ansari, the director of the Logistics Department at the MoI and Kerim Kalafatoglu, Chairman & Executive Director for Ares Shipyard Ltd.
The contract signing ceremony was attended by the Turkish Ambassador to Qatar Ahmet Demirok , director of the Coast and Border Security Department brigadier Ali Ahmed al-Badeed and Director Of The Financial Affairs Department at the Ministry of Interior Brigadier Ahmed al-Jammal.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Brigadier al-Anasri said that the contract between the MoI and Ares Shipyard Ltd., the biggest in shipbuilding industry in Turkey, came after two years of study.
During this period data were collected about the companies working in the field worldwide and the final results were in favour of the Turkish partner, he noted.
Talks with the Turkish company Ares Shipyard Ltd. lasted almost a year until an agreement was concluded, Brigadier al-Ansari said.
Brigadier al-Ansari further said that the strategy of the Ministry of Interior has focused on three areas with respect to the development of the Department of Coast and Border Security. The first is to revive the human element through scholarship and to study in specialised maritime colleges. The second is to build the naval base of the coast and border security department, and the third axis is aimed at supplying the department with fast boats to enable it to perform its tasks efficiently.
In March Turkey signed an MoU with Qatar to deliver 17 fast patrol boats for the Qatar Coast Guard Services at the fourth Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (Dimdex 2014) .
The agreement was signed between Qatar’s Brig. Abdullah Saad al-Kharji, Deputy of Director Logistics Department, Ministry of Interior and Turkey’s Kerim Kalafatoglu, Chairman & Executive Director for Ares Shipyard Ltd.
Ares Shipyard Ltd is a privately-owned Turkish company based in Antalya that specialises in building patrol boats and vessels for military and paramilitary use.
Murad Bayar, Turkey’s Undersecretary for Defence Industry, told Gulf Times that he was pleased that Turkish companies were developing good relations with their Qatari counterparts and hoped that this co-operation would increase further in the future.
