Qatari-Turkish Joint Committee for Economic and Commercial Co-operation explores potential areas

Capitalising on the robust bilateral trade between Qatar and Turkiye, Doha seeks to strengthen co-operation mechanisms as part of strategies to seize the opportunities in various sectors such as trade and investment, manufacturing, logistics, information technology, digital and financial services, food, agriculture, health, and education.This was highlighted by HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Qassim al-Thani, Minister of Commerce and Industry, at the inaugural session of the Qatari-Turkish Joint Committee for Economic and Commercial Co-operation in Istanbul. The session was co-chaired by Dr Ömer Bolat, Minister of Trade of Türkiye."The Qatari-Turkish strategic partnership sets an example in the map of bilateral and regional alliances," he said, adding this partnership gathers its strength from the long standing historical ties.The global challenges and economic shifts serve as incentives to develop joint efforts aimed at increasing the volume of trade to levels, reflecting the potential available in both countries’ markets, he said, highlighting that the volume trade between the countries rose by 16.7% year-on-year to more than $2.2bn in 2022.During the proceedings of the meeting, collaboration aspects across multiple sectors were discussed and both the sides agreed to take necessary steps to move forward for consolidating trade and investment co-operation in order to increase the volume of trade exchange and facilitate the flow of goods, services, and investments.The growth of the trade volume between the two countries proves the upgraded bilateral relations between the two countries, especially with the existence of direct navigation lines, along with an array of agreements signed between them with abundant shared investments.Earlier Qatar Chamber chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim al-Thani had said Turkiye is an important destination for Qatari investments as he stressed on the importance of further developing trade between the two countries.The two countries late last year celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them. The Qatari-Turkish relations have witnessed a qualitative evolution since its establishment in 1973 until culminated in the strategic partnership stage.There are about 200 companies with Qatari capital in Turkiye with a value of $33.2bn. More than 720 Turkish companies operate in Qatar, with a joint Qatari-Turkish capital, or Turkish 100% capital, in addition to 15 Turkish companies operating in the free zone in Qatar. The Qatar Investment Authority currently has three mega projects in Turkiye.Qatar is considered one of the largest foreign investors in Turkiye and, in recent years, the Qatari private sector has recorded a remarkable presence in several Turkish investment fields such as real estate, contracting, tourism, manufacturing, media, finance, and health.