Mohammad Shoeb I The Peninsula
The Qatar-Turkey bilateral economic cooperation is expected to continue maintaining robust growth in 2020 and beyond. Bilateral trade volume between the two friendly countries during the first nine months of 2019 reached QR5.69bn.
The trade exchange between Qatar and Turkey witnessed a remarkable jump of 85 percent from QR4.88bn ($1.34bn) in 2017 to QR8.74bn ($2.4bn) in 2018, according to data provided by Qatar Chamber (QC) on the occasion of a meeting with a trade delegation from Turkey.
The QC held a meeting yesterday with the members of the visiting trade delegation headed by Board Member of Electrical Electronics and Services Exporters’ Association (TET) Kerem Ozdogan. The Qatari side was headed by QC’s First Vice-Chairman Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari.
During the meeting, they reviewed means of strengthening the level of cooperation between the Qatari private sector and its Turkish counterpart, especially in the field of manufacturing sectors such as electronics and electrical products.
The meeting also discussed the possibility of establishing partnerships between Qatari business men and Turkish counterparts from the association.
Al Kuwari, who presided over the Qatari side, said that the there is a wide range of opportunities for expanding cooperation between the two sides, such as in the metal sector, especially in the light of the distinguished relations between both the friendly countries.
On his part, the head of the Turkish visiting delegation Kerem Ozdogan said that the delegation comprises leading companies specialised in electric and electronic industries with a view to developing ties for cooperation with Qatari businesses and exploring the Qatari market.
He said that Qatar enjoys huge potential, noting that it is a leading and attractive investment destination.
Commenting on Turkey’s vibrant industrial and manufacturing sectors and its fast growing exports, Ozdogan noted that Turkey’s exports reached $150bn in 2018 which is expected to reach $160bn in 2019. Out of this massive volume, the exports of TET companies accounted for 10 percent of the total annual exports.
TET was established in 1991 and has over 7500 member companies which has been working to improve and promote the export volume of the electrical-electronics industries in Turkey.
He said that Qatar and Turkey have been witnessing fast and steady growth in bilateral cooperation which is expected to increase further in the coming days as both sides are working on it aggressively.
The trade and economic relations between the two countries witnessed unprecedented growth over the last couple of years, especially after the unjust blockade by the Saudi-led Arab quartet in early June 2017m, after that Qatar ramped up imports from Turkey.
The areas of bilateral economic cooperation is also expanding and deepening. Currently the major Qatari imports from Turkey include articles of iron and steel, electric machines and equipment, tools, furniture, apparel of clothes and accessories, vegetables and fruits, among others.
Among major Qatari exports to Turkey are petroleum oils and its products, plastic and its products, aluminum, chemicals and petrochemicals and many other items.
