Turkey signs military, commercial agreements with Qatar during Emir’s visit

Turkey and Qatar have signed 10 new agreements on military cooperation, international trade and free zones, and investments during Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s visit to the Turkish capital on Thursday, Hürriyet newspaper reported.

According to Thursday’s agreements, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will purchase 10 percent of Borsa Istanbul stock exchange shares, and its purchase of Istanbul’s İstinye Park shopping centre has been finalised. 

The emirate is also investing in the Haliç Golden Horn project in Istanbul’s historic peninsula, where two luxury marinas, two hotels, a mosque and a shopping centre will be constructed. Another large-scale investment is Qatar’s purchase of the commercial port in the southern Antalya province.

Qatar and Turkey’s trade ministries are also going to establish a joint commerce commission, and promote each other’s goods in the free zones in both countries.

The two countries established a Supreme Strategic Committee in 2014 to develop bilateral relations, which has grown significantly since, particularly after Qatar’s falling out with other Arab countries over accusations of supporting terrorism in 2017.

There are 533 Turkish companies operating in Qatar, and 179 Qatari companies in Turkey, according to state-run Anadolu agency.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had recently visited Qatar in October to meet with the Emir, who considers Erdoğan to be a father, and had gifted him a $400 million Boeing jet in 2018.