SINCE 1972, bilateral ties between Doha and Ankara have developed into a solid partnership in trade, tourism, knowledge sharing, and defence.
Turkish President H E Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Doha on Wednesday, holding discussions with H H Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on latest regional and international developments as well as issues of joint interest. In an exclusive interview with this paper, the Turkish President spoke about a number of burning regional issues, and termed the bilateral cooperation with Qatar a win-win partnership.
He said Turkey-Qatar Combined Joint Force Command is a symbol of brotherhood, friendship, solidarity, and sincerity between the two countries, adding that Turkey’s military presence in Qatar is contributing to the stability in the whole region. President Erdogan said Qatar had emerged stronger despite the unjust blockade imposed against it, hoping the crisis is resolved soon. He also said that Turkish people can never forget Qatar’s solidarity following the July 15 coup attempt.
On bilateral trade, he said the trade ties between the two countries have increased tremendously over the past years, adding that currently 500 Turkish companies are operating in Qatar. The total value of the projects undertaken by Turkish contracting companies is $18.5bn. H E President Erdogan also touched upon many issues including Turkey’s special bond with Saudi Arabia, and the strategic cooperation with the United States in areas such as the fight against terrorism and resolution of conflicts.
He also spoke about “the deal of the century” for settling the Palestinian issues, describing it as “a plan that ignores the rights of Palestinian people, rejects a two-state solution on the basis of the borders of 1967, and legitimises the policies of occupation and annexation”. Therefore, the Turkish President said, the deal has no chance of success. On Libya, President Erdogan said the Government of National Accord, led by PM Fayez Sarraj, is the only legitimate structure in Libya that is recognised by the international community. He said Turkey and Libya, countries with the longest coastline in the Mediterranean, signed two MoUs on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas and military cooperation.
These agreements, he said, did not pose any problem in terms of international law and established practices. President Erdogan said Turkish forces were carrying out training and support activities in Libya on the request of Libyan government. Qatar’s cooperative ties with Turkey have served the cause of peace, justice, and respect for the international law in the region and beyond.