2018-07-26
Qatar to Invest $15bn in Turkey
2018-10-23
“As part of the important talks that I held in Ankara with His Excellency President Erdogan, we announced a $15-billion deposit package and investment projects in the country, which has a strong and solid productive economy,” HH the Emir wrote on Twitter.
President Erdogan thanked the Emir and the Qatari nation for their standing beside Turkey. In Twitter, he conveyed thankfulness from the Turkish people to Sheikh Tamim and the Qatari people for standing beside Turkey and said that the strong bilateral relations between the two countries will continue to witness more progress in several fields.
Investment-Enhancing Deals
Qatar-Turkey relations see remarkable progress. One aspect of that came during the past few months when the two countries signed the Trade and Economic Chamber Agreement (TEOA), which is one of a package of new free trade deals between Doha and Ankara.
The agreement was signed at the premises of the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Commerce in Ankara. It was signed by Turkish Minister of Trade Mrs. Ruhsar Pekcan and Qatari Minister of Economy and Commerce HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohamed bin Jassim Al-Thani.
Following the signing ceremony, Mrs. Pekcan said Turkish-Qatari friendship that goes back for decades has today ushered a new phase.
“We have initialed an agreement to boost economic relations between the two countries and we wish it will be a good tool for bilateral trade,” she added.
The landmark agreement is expected to raise the rates of economic growth, productive efficiency and investment flows in both countries significantly.
The agreement aims at promoting trade exchange and ease restrictions on investments, trade in services and electronic commerce (e-commerce), cooperation in the fields of customs, education, research and development, capacity building, hosting exhibitions, forums and conferences on enhancing economic ties.
In the same context, Qatar Central Bank said in a media release it signed an agreement with its Turkish counterpart for currency swap. This comes a few days after the Emir of Qatar announced his country would invest $15 billion in Turkey.
QCB said the currency swap agreement aims to boost and develop cooperation between the two banks by establishing a two-way route for currency swap. The release also said the deal was inked at QCB premises by HE QCB Governor Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al-Thani and his Turkish counterpart Mr. Murat Çetinkaya.
Qatar’s Ambassador to Turkey HE Mr. Salem bin Mubarak Al-Shafi commented on the new deal and said that Turkey is a strategic ally for us and “we will never think twice to extend the necessary support to it.” He added in press remarks published by Anadolu Agency that Qatar was always in the lead in supporting our Turkish brothers.
The two countries, he said, share the same positions on regional and global issues in general for the best interest of their two nations.
Diversified Investments
Experts and observers say Qatar-Turkey strategic partnership enhances security and stability in the region. Qatar’s investments in Turkey have now exceeded $20 billion, in addition to the $15 billion HH the Emir has recently announced, taking the investment volume to $35 billion. They suggest this is a record figure rarely heard of around the world.
Qatari investments in Turkey cover multiple sectors. Qatar has the lion’s share in the Turkish QNB Finansbank and the banking sector in Turkey is one of the top profitable sector. Qatar is the only Arab country that has investment in media industry there, which reflects the strategic vision of the Qatari leadership. Qatar also invests in real estate and energy sectors there and a joint project at a value of $5.5 billion is expected to reach completion and be announced soon.
Moreover, Qatar is to become one of the top investors in the Kanal İstanbul (Channel Istanbul) project announced by the Turkish president. The most important event within the Qatari-Turkish partnership was their agreement to invest in defense industries where Ankara has done a lot of progress.
The partnership will help localize industry and technology in Qatar by establishing joint industrial zones here, thus transforming Qatar into an exporter of several products to regional and world markets. What is new in the course of their partnership was their decision to invest in critical sectors such as energy, in addition to boosting Turkey’s investment in infrastructure projects that Qatar needs for hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022. The two countries also decided to work on establishing what they have called multilateral partnerships inside Africa and several other places around the world, managed by Qatar and Turkey.
Turkey’s exports to Qatar reached $611 million over the first seven months of 2018 and its imports $195 million.
Turkish contracting companies have to date executed 137 projects in Qatar at a value of $14.8 billion.
