Turkish electromechanical firms seek investment opportunities in Qatar

Turkish engineering companies in the field of electromechanics are seeking investment opportunities in Qatar, an official from Turkey’s Ministry of Economy said during a meeting with Qatar Chamber board members yesterday.Ugur Ozturk, the director-general of the Ministry of Economy’s Free Zones, Foreign Promotion and Services in Turkey, said a delegation composed of members of the Electromechanical Industrialists Association of Turkey (Emsad) is in Qatar to explore investment opportunities here and to strengthen cooperation ties with their Qatari counterparts.In a speech, Ozturk underlined the significance of the electromechanical sector in the mega projects being implemented in Qatar related to the country’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022.He noted that Qatar has “many opportunities and huge potentials” that attracted Turkish businessmen in last decade wherein trade relations between both countries have developed during this period.“Qatar is one of the most important markets for Turkish business circles in the Middle East, with huge natural and economic resources,” he said, adding that Turkey “is sharing the same objectives and ideas with Qatar regarding the ongoing unjust siege imposed by neighbouring countries.”Ozturk said Emsad was established in 1992 and aims to aid in the development, growth, and maintaining a modern level of the electromechanical industry in Turkey where 700 companies are operating with $6bn worth of exports of the total electromechanical industry.Speaking at the meeting, Qatar Chamber board member Mohamed Mahdi al-Ahbabi said Qatar-Turkey trade volume stood at $1.5bn in 2016. The figure, he said, reflects growth in economic and trade ties, and allows for further cooperation in the trade and investment fields.“Obviously, Qatari-Turkish MOUs and agreements play a key role in paving the way for establishing more commercial alliances among Qatari and Turkish entrepreneurs and increasing last year’s $1.5bn trade exchange to higher levels, especially in the current siege imposed on Qatar by three of Gulf countries,” he said.  Al-Ahbabi noted that the Qatari business community looks forward to forge partnerships with more Turkish companies, and that Qatari businessmen are aspiring to strengthen trade relations with Turkish companies in the electromechanical sector.