Turkey, Qatar ink new cooperation deals

Turkey and Qatar have signed 10 new deals at a joint meeting held at the presidential complex in Ankara.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Tamim Hamad Al Thani co-chaired the closed-door meeting.

The 10 percent sale of shares of Turkey's stock exchange Borsa Istanbul topped the list of agreements made during the day.

Turkey Wealth Fund is the majority shareholder of Borsa Istanbul with a shareholding of 90.6 percent. After the sale, the fund will continue holding 80.6 percent of the Borsa Istanbul shares.

Qatar Investment Authority is the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf state.

Another agreement was inked to transfer shares of Istanbul's Istinye Park, a luxury shopping mall.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed for joint investment in the Made in Istanbul Golden Horn Project.

The transfer and purchase of shares of the Middle East Antalya Port Operators from Turkey's Global Ports to Qatar's Terminals W.L.L. was also agreed upon.

READ MORE: A brief overview of Qatar-Turkey ties

An MoU was signed for joint promotion activities between Turkey's Commerce Ministry and Qatar's Free Zone Administration.

Another deal was reached on the establishment of a joint trade commission between the two countries.

Several MoUs were also signed for water administration, improved economic and monetary cooperation, and family and social services.

A statement of intent was signed for an exchange program for diplomats of both countries.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also signed the joint statement of the 6th iteration of the meeting.

The meeting was also attended by Turkish National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, Treasury and Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli, Family, Labour and Social Services Minister Zehra Zumrut Selcuk, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, Turkey Wealth Fund CEO Zafer Sonmez and many businesspeople.

Previous meetings, agreements

In the past, the two countries made a total of 52 agreements and five joint declarations.

With the latest meeting, the total number of agreements has risen to 62.

In previous meetings, the committee reached consensus in many significant issues in the fields of economy, industry, safety, investment, energy, culture, intellectual property, education and youth.

The trade volume between the two countries increased by 6 percent in 2020 to reach $1.6 billion. Qatar’s investments in Turkey reached $22 billion, according to data provided by Turkey’s Doha Embassy.

A total of 533 Turkish companies operate in Qatar, completing construction projects to the tune of $18.5 billion.

A total of 179 companies from Qatar operate in Turkey.

The number of Qatari tourists visiting Turkey has been rising over the years, with 110,000 in 2019.

READ MORE: Turkey launches first training warship for Qatar