Foreign Minister and his Turkish counterpart during the press conference in Doha
HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that the meeting of the seventh session of the Higher Strategic Committee between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Turkey, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, and His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey Sister, today will witness the signing of 11 new agreements, in addition to 80 previous agreements between the two countries.
In a joint press conference with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu following the preparatory ministerial meeting for the seventh session of the Committee in Doha yesterday, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed Qatar’s aspiration to receive HE the President of the Republic of Turkey to meet with his brother, His Highness the Emir, and to convene the Strategic Committee The Supreme Council for research and development of bilateral relations, regional developments and coordination of positions.
His Excellency valued the friendly relations with the Republic of Turkey, which witnessed remarkable growth and development in various diplomatic fields, considering that the relations between the two countries are strategic partnership relations and exceptional relations linked to many values and commonalities between them.
His Excellency said that he discussed with the Turkish Foreign Minister various regional issues, especially the Afghan file, the deteriorating humanitarian situation, and how to work and coordinate together in strengthening humanitarian, political and economic efforts and unifying the efforts of the international community in the context of dealing with the Afghan file, pointing out that the preparatory ministerial meeting discussed developments at the airport. The Afghan capital is Kabul, where the State of Qatar and the sisterly Republic of Turkey are working continuously with the interim government in Afghanistan to reach an agreement to operate the airport normally.
He added that the meeting discussed developments in other regional files, especially the Palestinian file, pointing out that the two countries’ visions matched this file. In this regard, His Excellency referred to the “steadfast position of the State of Qatar towards the brothers in Palestine and the Palestinian cause, which is a central Arab and Islamic issue for us.”
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that the meeting also dealt with developments in Iraq and Syria and the continuation of consultation between the two countries on regional files, saying that meetings will be held tomorrow that will deal with many of these files, expressing Qatar’s aspiration to work together with the Turkish Republic to follow up on what will be agreed upon. At tomorrow’s meetings.
In response to a question about the significance of the simultaneous visits of the Turkish President and His Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Saudi Arabia to Doha, His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs explained that there is a “coincidence in the timetable between the visit of His Excellency the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and also the visit of His Highness, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.
His Excellency wished that there would always be relations with all brotherly and friendly countries of the State of Qatar, adding that there are Turkish-Saudi efforts to restore relations between the two countries, but there is no relationship between the two visits to Qatar.
Regarding the economic situation in Turkey, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that the State of Qatar is closely following the global economy, and is confident that politicians in Turkey will make appropriate interventions to help the economy, adding that the State of Qatar trusts in The Turkish economy is diversified and built on solid foundations, and this would help withstand these current conditions.
His Excellency stressed that the State of Qatar has huge investments in Turkey that are yielding positive results, saying, “We realize that these courses must end as long as the foundations are solid, and we realize that this cycle of difficulties is temporary and we will overcome it, God willing, and we are looking for opportunities that come from this way.” challenges”.
On the position of the State of Qatar regarding normalization with the Syrian regime, His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the State of Qatar has made it clear from the beginning that there were reasons for these concerns it expressed and on the basis of which Syria was suspended from the League of Arab States, stressing that these reasons do not It still exists, “and we have not seen any progress or any change in the behavior of this regime in dealing with these causes.”
His Excellency also saw that “without taking serious steps to find a political solution in Syria, to help and save the Syrian people and to return refugees and displaced persons to their homes and areas… there is no logic in normalizing relations with the Syrian regime, and I do not think that we are in a position that allows us to allow the Syrian regime to By attending the Arab League summit.. this was our position and we will maintain and preserve it,” expressing his hope that the Arab countries will realize that these reasons still exist.
For his part, HE Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu described his country’s relations with the State of Qatar as “distinguished and good”, explaining that the two countries will sign a number of new agreements tomorrow and the final statement, which he described as “comprehensive and very important”, noting that Turkey It is trying to strengthen its relations with Qatar in the defense, health, cultural and other fields.
His Excellency said, “The issue of trade and investment will be raised tomorrow at the meeting of small and medium enterprises, as well as our relations in health and tourism are developing little by little, and tomorrow we will sign an agreement in this field.”
The Turkish Foreign Minister also mentioned that the two countries have joint measures to mitigate the “Covid-19” pandemic, expressing in this context his thanks to the State of Qatar for classifying Turkey on the Green List and recognizing the Turkish vaccination document to facilitate tourism between the two countries, noting that the two countries are trying to develop their military relations. More, indicating that the educational and cultural field needs more development.
His Excellency added that the two sides will sign tomorrow a document related to cooperation in the cultural, educational, and academic fields, pointing out that many Turkish students want to study in Qatar, and Qataris also want to study in Turkey.
Regarding the Afghan file, HE Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that the State of Qatar knows Afghanistan closely, and has made and is still making many efforts to bring security and peace, and we are witness to those efforts, pointing out that the Afghan people now urgently need humanitarian aid.
His Excellency called on the international community to separate the humanitarian and political aspects of the Afghan file, pointing out that Turkey distinguishes a lot between the two issues, “as this issue will be discussed tomorrow in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.”
The Turkish Foreign Minister also made it clear that his country offers what it can to the Afghan people and that the Qatari Red Crescent offers what it can provide to the Afghan people in the humanitarian aspect, “and we coordinate between the two countries on this issue,” saying that Qatar and Turkey have allocated a budget for these humanitarian efforts.
His Excellency also pointed out that his country is cooperating with the Qatari side in order to keep Kabul Airport open and active, and therefore continues coordination with Qatar.
His Excellency Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called for continuing talks and dialogue with the Taliban to contribute to providing humanitarian services to the Afghan people, stressing that “the brotherly State of Qatar is doing what it can and we are coordinating with it.”
With regard to the Libyan issue, His Excellency Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, stated that his country is following the developments in the Libyan file, saying that “the area controlled by Haftar, in which a number of Turkish citizens were kidnapped, and they were recently liberated with thankful Qatari efforts, therefore I thank the Qatari side for these efforts.
Regarding the simultaneous visits of the Turkish President and His Highness the Saudi Crown Prince to Qatar, His Excellency the Turkish Foreign Minister said, “When we begin to normalize relations, we find such visits simultaneous, and this is normal, and we want to confirm our acceptance and happiness with the return of relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar and the lifting of the siege on Qatar,” stressing that Turkey wants to improve its relations with all countries in the region.
His Excellency said that “some files may be controversial, but this should not affect the relations between us. We have no ill will or enmity with any of the countries in the region.”
The Turkish Foreign Minister also stressed that the State of Qatar contributes to improving Turkish relations with the rest of the region, and that Turkey thanks it for that, adding that Turkey wants to raise its relations to the best level, and also wants the countries of the region to have good relations with each other because the whole region You need security, stability and good relationships.
Regarding the Syrian file, His Excellency Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that inviting the Syrian regime to attend the Arab League summit or any other international meeting without any radical solution will push this regime to continue its brutality and its aggressions, pointing out that Turkey has contributed to attempts to find a political solution in Syria through the “Astana” conference and other conferences and mechanisms with Qatar and other partners.
In the same context, His Excellency said, “The Syrian committee presents the best opportunity for a political solution, and the regime should be encouraged to work in a more constructive manner in the next round of the Syrian committee’s meetings.”
ونفى سعادته الحديث عن فشل الاقتصاد التركي، قائلا “إنه حديث غير صحيح”، ومؤكدا أن بلاده حققت نسبة نمو عالية على مر الشهور الأخيرة وأن رقم الصادرات التركية في ارتفاع مستمر وحجم الإنتاج في زيادة.
وأوضح سعادته أن “المشكلة اليوم تتعلق فقط بقيمة الليرة التركية، وأن الصعود والهبوط الذي تشهده أسواق المال موجود ولا ننكره ويؤثر كذلك في التضخم المالي والفوائد المصرفية”، مشيرا إلى أن “الخبراء يعملون من أجل تجاوز هذه المشكلة تحت إشراف رئيس الجمهورية، ومؤكدا أن “هذه المشكلة مؤقتة، ونحن نتخذ التدابير اللازمة”.
His Excellency Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu described the Turkish economy as a promising economy at the near level, and said that “many countries want to invest in Turkey, and it is not just about pumping money into the stock exchange or the central bank, but about direct and indirect investments,” he continued, “For example, Qatar.” It invests in Turkey, and we have a financial barter agreement between Turkey and Qatar.”
