Qatar and Turkey Sign 11 New Agreements Today

HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani

HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that the meeting of the 7th session of the Supreme Strategic Committee between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Turkey, chaired by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and HE President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will witness the signing of 11 new agreements, in addition to 80 previous agreements between the two countries..

In a joint press conference with HE Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu following the preparatory ministerial meeting for the 7th session of the Committee in Doha today, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed Qatar's aspiration to receive HE the President of the Republic of Turkey to meet with his brother, HH the Amir, and to convene the Committee to discuss the development of bilateral relations, and to discuss regional developments and coordinate positions.

His Excellency valued the friendly relations with the Republic of Turkey, which witnessed remarkable growth and development in various diplomatic fields, considering that the relations between the two countries are strategic partnership relations and exceptional relations linked to many values and commonalities between them.

His Excellency explained that his meeting today with HE Mevlut Cavusoglu was an opportunity to address and discuss regional developments, coordinate positions between the two countries, and talk about various regional issues, especially the developments of the Afghan file, the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, as well as means towards joint-action and coordination to enhance humanitarian, political and economic efforts, and unify the international community's visions regarding cooperation with this file.

His Excellency noted that the State of Qatar is working alongside Turkey and the interim government of Afghanistan to reach an agreement to restart the normal operation of Kabul Airport.

His Excellency also pointed out that his meeting with HE Turkish Foreign Minister provided an opportunity to discuss developments in other regional files, including the Palestinian file, in which the two countries' views have coincided with their firm stance towards supporting the Palestinian cause as the central issue of the Arab and Islamic world, adding that the meeting was also an opportunity to discuss developments in Iraq, Syria and Libya, as well as follow up on developments in regional files and the continuation of consultations between the two brotherly countries.

Regarding the consecutive visits of HE Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and HH Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, and whether they were related to bringing views closer between Turkey and KSA, His Excellency Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed that the dates of the visits were a mere coincidence. He expressed his hope for permanent fraternal relations between all brotherly and friendly countries of the State of Qatar, pointing at the same time to Turkish-Saudi efforts to restore relations between them, even though the two countries' visits to the State of Qatar are not related.

Regarding the economic situation in Turkey, His Excellency stressed that Qatar is closely observing the global economy, expressing confidence that Turkish politicians will make the necessary interventions to support and help the economy, and that Qatar is confident in the diversified Turkish economy built on solid foundations, which will help the economy to withstand these current conditions.

Qatar is investing huge investments in Turkey which are resulting in positive outcomes, he said, adding that Qatar realizes that this cycle of ups and downs - although difficult and complex, must end as long as the foundations are solid and the that the Republic of Turkey will overcome by finding opportunities that result from such challenges.

On Qatar's position regarding the normalization with the Syrian regime, His Excellency stressed that Qatar's position has always been clear, and that there are reasons for the fears that have been expressed on the basis of which Syria's membership in the Arab League was suspended, adding that these reasons still exist, and that neither progress nor development have been seen in the actions of this regime.

His Excellency rejected any normalization of relations with Syria before serious steps are taken towards a political solution in Syria, including saving or helping to save the Syrian people and returning refugees and displaced persons to their homes, explaining that there is no logic in normalizing relations with the regime unless these serious steps were taken.

For his part, HE Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, affirmed the depth of Qatar's relations with his country, pointing out that the texts of the agreements that will be signed tomorrow by the leaderships of the two countries have been finalized, which will strengthen the two countries' relations in the health, defense, economic, tourism, investment, trade, cultural and other fields.

During the joint press conference His Excellency valued the State of Qatar's placing of the Republic of Turkey on the Green List to facilitate the transition process between the two brotherly countries, and stimulate the tourism movement, which is progressing little by little, noting that the two countries have joint measures taken regarding preventive and precautionary measures regarding the "Covid-19" pandemic, adding we will try to mitigate them.

His Excellency added that the two sides will sign tomorrow a document related to cooperation in the cultural, educational, and academic fields, pointing out that many Turkish students want to study in Qatar, and Qataris also want to study in Turkey.

Regarding the Afghan file, His Excellency said that the State of Qatar knows Afghanistan closely, and has made and is still making many efforts to bring security and peace, pointing out that the Afghan people now urgently need humanitarian aid.

His Excellency called on the international community to separate the humanitarian and political aspects of the Afghan file, pointing out that Turkey distinguishes a lot between the two issues, "as this issue will be discussed tomorrow in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation."

HE the Turkish Foreign Minister also made it clear that his country offers what it can to the Afghan people and that Qatar Red Crescent offers what it can provide to the Afghan people in the humanitarian aspect, saying that Qatar and Turkey have allocated a budget for these humanitarian efforts.

His Excellency also pointed out that his country is cooperating with the Qatari side in order to keep Kabul Airport open and active, and therefore continues coordination with Qatar.

His Excellency called for continuing talks and dialogue with the Taliban to contribute to providing humanitarian services to the Afghan people, stressing that the State of Qatar is doing what it can.

With regard to the Libyan issue, His Excellency stated that his country is following developments in the Libyan file, His Excellency said that in the area under Haftar's control a number of Turkish citizens were kidnapped, and they were recently freed with commendable Qatari efforts, and he thanked the Qatari side for those efforts.

Regarding the follow-up to the visit of HE the Turkish President and the Saudi Crown Prince to Doha, HE the Turkish Foreign Minister stated that when the normalization of relations begins, we find such visits simultaneous, and this is normal, and we want to confirm our acceptance and happiness for the return of relations between Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar and the end of the blockade on Qatar, affirming that Turkey wants to improve its relations with all countries in the region, despite the existence of controversial files, but this should not affect relations between countries.

His Excellency also stressed that the State of Qatar contributes to improving Turkish relations with the rest of the region, and that Turkey thanks it for that, adding that Turkey wants to raise its relations to the best level, and wants that the relations of these countries to be good, because the whole region needs security, stability and good relations.

HE the Turkish Foreign Minister noted that inviting the Syrian regime to attend the Arab Summit or any other international meeting without a radical solution to the crisis will push this regime to continue its brutality and aggression, stressing the need to focus on the political solution, because it is the only one capable of achieving stability in Syria, noting at the same time that Turkey contributed to finding a political solution through the Astana conference and other conferences and work mechanisms with Qatar and other partners.

In the same context, His Excellency said that the Syrian committee presents the best opportunity for a political solution, and the regime should be encouraged to work in a more constructive manner in the next round of meetings of the Syrian committee.

His Excellency denied the talk about the failure of the Turkish economy, stressing that his country had achieved a high growth rate over recent months, and that the number of Turkish exports is constantly rising and the volume of production is increasing.

His Excellency explained that the problem today is only related to the value of the Turkish lira, and that the rise and fall that the financial markets are witnessing exist, and it also affects financial inflation and banking interests,

His Excellency noted that experts are working to overcome this problem under the supervision of HE the President of the Republic of Turkey, stressing that "this problem is temporary, and we are taking the necessary measures."

His Excellency described the Turkish economy as a promising economy, saying that many countries want to invest in Turkey, and the matter is not only related to pumping money into the stock exchange or the central bank, but rather it is related to direct and indirect investments, stressing that Qatar invests in Turkey and both have a financial barter agreement.

SOURCE: QNA