Qatar and Türkiye enjoy ties of friendship and relations between the two countries have been rapidly improving in all fields. While bilateral visits add impetus to relations between Qatar and Türkiye, the two countries also closely coordinate and cooperate on regional issues. The annual meetings of the Supreme Strategic Committee, established in 2014 as a bilateral mechanism to form the institutional basis of high-level dialogue and cooperation between Qatar and Türkiye, are co-chaired by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkish President H E Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In a joint communiqué issued by Qatar and Turkiye on the conclusion of the 10th session of the Qatari-Turkish Supreme Strategic Committee in Ankara, the two countries have agreed to put into force the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, which will further improve commercial, economic, and investment ties between the two nations. They also expressed readiness to hold joint Economic Commission meetings to give impetus to bilateral economic relations. The two sides agreed to explore new opportunities to expand and diversify trade and economic relations and reiterated their goal to reach $5bn trade volume in the near future. Qatar and Turkiye stressed their desire to strengthen economic and financial cooperation in public-private partnerships and exchange of experiences between institutions and business communities in line with the memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Finance of Qatar and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance of Turkiye. The two sides committed to enhancing cooperation in the energy sector and bilateral trade in the LNG by encouraging relevant enterprises to enter into long-term LNG sale and purchase agreements. The two nations affirmed their desire to strengthen cooperation and exchange of experiences in culture and education. They agreed to cooperate in protection, preservation, and restoration of cultural heritage, besides the exchange of technical knowledge and training programmes. Qatar and Turkiye stressed their willingness to develop cooperation in education within the framework of the cooperation agreement between the government of Qatar and the government of Turkiye signed on December 2, 2015. They underlined their readiness to further develop cooperation in public diplomacy, media, communications, and broadcasting and emphasised their willingness for cooperation in the health sector. The two nations voiced concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and Lebanon and condemned indiscriminate targeting of civilians and slammed the Israeli measures aimed at undermining the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. They also condemned Israel’s violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon by launching a ground offensive, which resulted in displacing more than one million people.
