Türkiye, Qatar target $5B in bilateral trade

Türkiye and Qatar aim to increase their bilateral trade volume to $5 billion, Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said Monday.

Bolat met with Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sayed, at the Trade Ministry in Ankara.

"Türkiye-Qatar relations have truly made tremendous progress. Our total annual foreign trade increased 53-fold over the past 21 years, reaching $1.3 billion last year," Bolat told reporters after the meeting.

Trade between the two countries climbed as high as $2.5 billion during preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, largely due to construction projects, he added.

Bolat said the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement between Türkiye and Qatar, which entered into force last year, would make a significant contribution to achieving the $5 billion trade target.

Turkish contractors have undertaken 206 projects worth a combined $21 billion in Qatar, he said.

Around 250 Qatari companies have investments totaling $7.8 billion in Türkiye, spanning sectors including finance, banking, energy, logistics, media and agriculture.

Meanwhile, approximately 1,116 Turkish companies of various sizes operate in Qatar's construction, services and manufacturing sectors.

ALTERNATIVE TRADE ROUTES AMID HORMUZ DISRUPTION

Bolat said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war in the region had created logistics and supply bottlenecks, highlighting the need for alternative routes.

"The current circumstances have shown that alternative routes are greatly needed to avoid dependence solely on maritime transport and the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

Türkiye is working to meet Qatar and other Gulf countries' demand for consumer goods, Bolat noted.

Under a transit transportation agreement with Saudi Arabia that took effect on April 15, Turkish carriers have been conducting intensive shipments to Gulf countries through Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as well as via Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

"We will work together to establish these transit and trade corridors on a stronger and more stable basis," he said.

Bolat added that Al-Sayed conveyed the Qatar Investment Authority's desire to expand its investments in Türkiye and said initiatives were underway in this regard.