Türkiye, Qatar forging closer commercial, trade ties

ANKARA

Türkiye and Qatar have agreed to take concrete steps to deepen the commercial and economic relations between the two nations, expand existing cooperation, increase mutual investments, and enhance the trade volume, Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat has said.

Bolat met with Qatar’s Commerce and Industry Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Abdullah Al Thani in Istanbul on Jan. 8.

“We had a very productive meeting… The determination we demonstrated in this meeting will be a significant milestone in achieving the economic development goals of both brotherly countries with strategic relations,” Bolat wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Meanwhile, the inaugural meeting of the Türkiye-Qatar Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO) was held in Istanbul with participation from representatives of both countries' public and private sectors. The two countries signed the JECTO agreement.

The JETCO Protocol encompasses various areas, including bilateral trade relations, mutual investments, collaboration in third-country construction services and cooperation on issues ranging from green transformation to customs procedures, Bolat said.

“We have outlined a roadmap to surpass our bilateral trade volume, which has increased by more than 50 times in the last 20 years with Qatar, aiming to exceed the $5 billion target set by our leaders,” he added.

In addition to the protocol, the Türkiye-Qatar Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, set to come into effect very soon, will guide the countries’ business communities toward achieving this goal, Bolat said.