Doha: The President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkiye (TOBB) Rifat Hisarciklioglu expressed his hope that the 10th session of the Qatari-Turkish Supreme Strategic Committee, which will be chaired by the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and HE President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan will bring fruitful results that will enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), the President of the TOBB said the fraternal and friendly relations between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Turkiye are deep-rooted and are developing rapidly in all fields, noting that the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries give great impetus to the relations between them, and that there is close cooperation and coordination between Ankara and Doha on many regional issues.
The two countries, he explained, are working to develop this strategic partnership, especially in the economic and investment fields, expressing his optimism about diversifying and increasing the volume of trade with Qatar, while welcoming in this regard the comprehensive economic partnership agreement between Turkiye and Qatar.
Both countries, he added, should double their efforts to raise the volume of bilateral trade to levels that meet aspirations, as Turkiye is a major industrial hub linking the continents of Europe and Asia.
94 percent of its exports are industrial products, and about 65 percent of its total exports are exported to developed countries, primarily the United States of America and the European Union, which reflects the quality of production in Turkiye.
Asked about new areas of cooperation that could be discussed between the two countries, Hisarciklioglu noted Turkish private sectors desire to expand participation in projects being implemented in Qatar such as those in technology, manufacturing, defense industries, energy, tourism, logistics, transportation, health, and financial services.
He stressed the importance of the business environment in the two countries and its role in stimulating trade exchange and raising the level of investment, noting Qatar’s investment of about $10bn in the Turkish economy and the implementation of projects in Qatar by many Turkish companies worth USD 20 billion.
The TOBB President highlighted working closely with the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry to develop bilateral economic relations, saying that they are arranging joint events that will contribute to strengthening trade and investment relations in Turkiye and Qatar, and they believe that there are great opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in other countries.
He called for enhancing opportunities for cooperation and partnerships between the business sectors in both countries by combining the advantages of each country and increasing investments in the geographical surroundings of both Qatar and Turkiye to ensure the integration of this geographical space into global value chains, and thus prosperity and peace can be achieved.
Concluding his interview with QNA, Rifat Hisarciklioglu explained that the development road project, which starts from Basra in the far south of Iraq and goes through Turkiye to Europe, is expected to become a regional transportation hub linking Europe and the Arabian Gulf and play a role in increasing regional and international cooperation.
