'Qatar, Turkey relations withstood all challenges'

The strong and deep-rooted friendship between Qatar and Turkey has withstood all the challenges and hardships faced by each of the two countries at different times and Qatar has proven to be a true and reliable friend of Turkey, Turkish ambassador to Qatar Dr Mostafa Goksu has said.As the Turkish embassy in Doha commemorates the 5th anniversary of the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and the Democracy and National Unity Day, Dr Goksu recalled how His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani called the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the night of July 15 and became the first world leader to express his support for our country. He said that Turkey and the Turkish people will never forget Qatar's strong support. Accordingly, Turkey hurried to support Qatar overcome the challenges followed by the Gulf crisis that started on June 5, 2017."Our relations with Qatar are growing stronger over the time and it crossed economic and business co-operation to all fields of life such as culture, arts, tourism and education. However, each country respects the sovereignty and fully independent decisions of the other and respect the differences, without interfering in the internal affairs of each other. Further, the unique and strategic friendship between Qatar and Turkey highly serves the safety, security and stability of the entire region," said the ambassador.He said that there are currently a good number of Turkish students who are enrolled at both Qatar University and Lusail University to study in Arabic as the Turkish government wants more Turkish people who can communicate in Arabic and master the language.Further, the two countries have a strong desire to enhance mutual co-operation in the environmental fields, and to further strengthen this the concerned entities in Turkey are studying the possibility of increasing the number of trees grown in Qatar, pointed out Dr Goksu.He said that five years have passed since the July 15 coup attempt, which was planned by FETO (Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation) and carried out by members of the organisation who infiltrated the army, which killed 251 and injured more than 2,000 of our citizens.He added that "July 15 revealed the great threat posed to the state by the FETO terrorist organisation. The greatest share in eliminating this threat belongs to the Turkish people, who have shown that they do not recognise any power over their own will and that they are ready to give their lives to protect their state and democratic gains."Accordingly, he stressed that "in the past five years, one of the main priorities of our state has been the fight against FETO at home and abroad." He said that the people of Turkey have overcome all the involved challenges and continued to support and stand by their legitimate and democratically elected government. Further, the government has taken all the necessary legal steps to eradicate the roots of such terrorist groups and save the society from the involved evils. Irrespective of the coup attempt, the Turkish economy has grown considerably and Turkish exports have reached a new high of more than $200nb, the envoy said. "Further, Turkey is now ready to receive more and more foreign visitors as the restrictions due to the current pandemic of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) are being eased. This all would help in the governments' efforts to improve the lives of the people." The Turkish embassy also organised an exhibition of the photos taken from the key events of July 15, 2016 "to keep a record of the significant moments in the history of the Turkish people, which affirm their united stand behind their legitimate government to protect their achievements and progress"