Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani reportedly met in Doha on Sunday to discuss economic cooperation opportunities between the two countries, ahead of President Tayyip Erdogan's planned trip to the Gulf on July 17-19. , where he will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
"Strategic cooperation between Qatar and Turkey will continue to contribute to economic development, regional stability, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said," Turkish state news agency ANADOLU reported, noting:
The eight (8) Strategic Cooperation meetings and the ninety-five (95) Turkey-Qatar agreements!
"Accompanied by Finance and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, Yilmaz arrived in Doha on Saturday to strengthen bilateral relations and explore possible avenues of economic cooperation.
"We discussed the relations between the two countries and the possibilities of economic cooperation during productive bilateral and delegation-level meetings," Yilmaz said on Twitter.
"As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, we plan to hold the 9th meeting of the Supreme Strategic Committee. We have signed a total of 95 agreements" in eight previous meetings, he said.
"In addition to the new projects we discussed during our visit today, we aim to deepen our cooperation, especially in the field of defense industry and energy," Yilmaz said, adding that these initiatives are expected to foster closer ties and enhance mutual interests, serving as a solid foundation for future cooperation between the two nations
The strategic cooperation between Qatar and Turkey will continue to contribute to regional stability and economic development, he said, adding that the friendship and cooperation between the two countries will further promote relations in all fields.
"I would like to express my gratitude to the officials of the State of Qatar, especially Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, for their hospitality," Yilmaz said.
Erdogan is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on July 17-19.
The strong military ties between Turkey and Qatar
The two countries established bilateral relations in 1972 and gradually increased their cooperation and dialogue on regional and international issues in the 2010s, particularly the Syrian Civil War and the Egyptian crisis, and both sides supported the same groups in Libya after fall of Gaddafi.
Turkey has Qatar's Turkish Combined Forces Command stationed at Khalid bin Walid Barracks, which Yilmaz visited.
Several military cooperation agreements have been signed between the two, while Turkey exports military equipment to Qatar.
These exports include BMC's Kirpi MRAP, Amazon 4X4 and Nurol Makina's Ejder Yalçın.
Anadolu Shipyard exports two OPVs, various amphibious landing craft and training ships.
ARES exports stealth boats and Baykar Bayraktar TB2 UAVs.
Qatar exports LNG to Turkiye, while Turkish construction companies work for the Qatari government.
Turkey sent 3,000 policemen and TCG Burgazada (F 513) corvette for "Operation FIFA-2022 World Cup Shield"
Conclusion
From the above it is easy to see that Turkey and Qatar are sister states. This fact, combined with Qatar's rapprochement with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, works "beneficially" in favor of Erdogan in the effort to improve and further tighten Turkey's relations with these countries, especially in the fields of economy, investment and military cooperation.
The latter concerns Greece, which has developed particularly friendly-allied relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with fighter jets from the countries in question participating together with Greek fighters in military exercises.
Finally, we remind you that in our previous article, we mentioned RINA, a multinational inspection, certification and engineering consulting company, and AFRY, a leader in Europe in engineering, design and consulting services, who have undertaken an initial study on how the region of the Gulf and Europe could be connected directly to a hydrogen transport pipeline, a key component in climate-friendly energy and industrial systems of the future.
