Turkey-Qatar relations: a solid investment that exceeded 23 billion dollars:

“We have a close partnership and continuous coordination regarding various aspects of bilateral, regional and international cooperation.”

Tweet on Twitter, during which the Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani summarized the strong ties that bring his country to Turkey, following a meeting he described as constructive and brought together by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in the Turkish capital, Ankara, where bilateral relations were discussed and ways supporting and developing them. The issues of common concern were discussed on the regional and international levels.

Al Thani, who is conducting an official visit to Turkey, conveyed the wishes of the Qatari prince, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to the Turkish people to achieve more progress, prosperity and development at all levels.

Turkey and Qatar: an investment leap in numbers

The incompatible political harmony between Turkey and Qatar was positively reflected in the level of economic relations that have jumped to their highest levels in recent years, as the difficult tests that the two countries tested in both the failed coup attempt in 2016 and the fabrication of the crisis of the devaluation of the Turkish lira under the influence of US sanctions two years ago Or the blockade imposed on Qatar by many countries, contributed greatly to the strength and solidity of ties, but rather proved the success of the two countries in overcoming the difficulties and gave a new breath to the relations between Ankara and Doha, which is evident through the volume of investments, partnership agreements and trade exchanges.

The investment between Qatar and Turkey is divided into several areas, the most important of which are:

A strong real estate investment:

According to the latest study by the Commercial Bank of Qatar, Turkey is the best place and first destination for Qataris who buy properties outside their country. A study that is actually embodied on the ground, where in recent years Turkey has become one of the most attractive countries for Qatari capital in the real estate sector, with a value that exceeds $ 7 billion in 2018, as Qatari businessmen in Turkey found the safe and easiest place in terms of measures to develop their investments.

The volume of investment in the real estate in Turkey field increased remarkably, as the value of real estate sales for Qatari investors increased from 44 million US dollars in 2017 to about 300 million US dollars at the beginning of 2019, an increase of 570 percent in 14 months.

The number of purchasing processes of properties in Turkey by Qataris during the year 2018, for example, amounted to 764 properties of various types, especially apartments in modern complexes, followed by villas and palaces, then lands, commercial real estate, and here Qataris flock to buy restaurants in a large way.

Qatar will be one of the most important investors in the strategic channel of Istanbul, which was announced by President Erdogan and considered it an economic and real estate wealth in every sense of the word.

Experts in the Turkish economy expect that the Turkish-Qatari cooperation in the field of building and construction will expand, especially with the recovery of construction in Qatar due to the preparation to host the 2022 World Cup.

According to the statistics of the Turkish Contractors Union, Turkish companies undertook 128 projects worth $ 14.1 billion in Qatar from 2000 until the end of 2017.

Extraordinary commercial exchange

Ankara and Doha have signed more than 55 cooperation agreements since the establishment of the joint strategic committee between the two countries in 2014, mostly in the commercial and economic field.

The total direct Qatari investments in Turkey reached 23 billion US dollars, an increase of nearly sixty times over the past few years.

The volume of trade exchanges between the two countries increased in late 2018 to 2.28 billion dollars, as the value of Turkish exports to Qatar was estimated at 1.1 billion dollars, while Qatar's exports to Turkey increased to 335 million dollars, in addition to tourism revenues, as Turkey is the favorite destination for Qataris since 2017.

About 500 Turkish companies are active in Qatar, including about 242 companies funded by Turkish Qatari capital and 26 companies with 100 percent net Turkish capital, with an investment of 16 billion dollars.

The total ceiling of the currency swap agreement between the central banks of Turkey and Qatar reached the equivalent of $ 5 billion in pounds and riyals.

Ankara and Doha ... a bridge for military cooperation

Military cooperation between Qatar and Turkey began in 2017, when an agreement was signed for cooperation in the defense industries.

Relations deepened at the military level after the outbreak of the Gulf crisis in 2017 with the entry into force of the Military Cooperation Agreement after ratification by the Turkish Parliament, where a Turkish military base was established in Qatar and joint military exercises were implemented.

The volume of cooperation intensified with the purchase of the Qatari armed forces from the Turkish company "BMC" for Military Industries, 85 armored cars, including 50 "Kirby" and 35 "Amazon".

In general, the visit of the prince of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in August 2018, gave a strong impetus to the relations between the two countries, as he announced at that time a package of investment projects in Turkey worth $ 15 billion.