The 2nd Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee Meeting, which was held Sunday in Trabzon with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in attendance yielded lucrative cooperation agreements across numerous sectors
The second meeting of the Qatar-Turkish Supreme Strategic Committee was held Sunday in Trabzon under the auspices of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani with an agenda for the further deepening of bilateral relations between Turkey and Qatar while views on the regional issues were exchanged. The meeting brought memoranda of understanding, agreements, action plans and a joint declaration between the two countries on areas such as education, health, finance, information, communication, youth, sports, culture, customs and agriculture, which were signed in the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. The meeting was held right after President Erdoğan and Qatari Emir Thani held a private talk at the Ramada Hotel in Trabzon. A Memorandum of Understanding on the Coordination of Financial Supervision between the Court of Accounts and the Qatar State Audit Office was signed by comptroller general Seyit Ahmet Baş and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Muhammad bin Abdurrahman Al-Thani.
The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) President Dr. Yekta Saraç and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdurrahman Al-Sani signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the fields of higher education and scientific research between YÖK and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education of the State of Qatar. The memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the fields of information and communication technology between the governments of the two countries was signed by Transportation, Maritime and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan and Qatari Foreign Minister Muhammad bin Abdurrahman Al-Sani.
The memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the fields of health and medical sciences between the governments of Turkey and Qatar was signed by Health Minister Recep Akdağ and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Muhammad bin Abdurrahman Al-Sani. The Youth and Sports Cooperation Agreement between the governments of the two countries was signed by Youth and Sports Minister Akif Çağatay Kılıç and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdurrahman Al-Sani. The memorandum of understanding on cultural cooperation between the governments of Turkey and Qatar was signed between Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdurrahman Al-Sani. The agreement on the avoidance of double taxation between the governments of the two countries was signed by Finance Minister Naci Ağbal and Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sherif Al-Emadi. The Agreement on Mutual Cooperation and Mutual Aid in Customs between the governments of Turkey and State of Qatar was signed by Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci and Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sherif Al-Emadi.
The Action Plan between Turkish Small and Medium Sized Industry Development Organization (KOSGEB) and Qatar Development Bank was signed by Science, Industry and Technology Minister Faruk Özlü and Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sherif Al-Emadi. Food, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Faruk Çelik and Qatari Municipality and Environment Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Rumaihi signed the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of agriculture.
Science, Industry and Technology Minister Faruk Özlü and Qatari Municipality and Environment Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Rumaihi signed the memorandum of understanding between the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) and Qatar Laboratories and the Standardization Affairs.
The memorandum of understanding between the governments of the two countries on cooperation in the arrangements of trade fairs was signed between Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci and Qatari Economy and Trade Minister Sheikh Ahmad bin Jassin bin Mohamed Al-Sani.
Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi and Qatar Economy and Commerce Minister Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani signed a memorandum of understanding on the Free Zones Cooperation between General Directorate of Free Regions Overseas Investment and Services under Ministry of Economy and Qatar Economic Zones Company.
Another memorandum of understanding on the Defense Industry Cooperation between Turkey and Qatar by Minister of Customs and Trade Bülent Tüfenkçi and Qatar Ministry of Defense Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Qatar Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani signed the joint declaration of the 2nd Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee meeting.
The Emir and the Turkish president attended the signing of the following agreements and MoUs (in detail):
1. An MoU in the field of auditing between the Court of Accounts of Qatar and the Turkish Court of Accounts to enhance co-operation in the areas of exchange of expertise, methodology of public external audit, training and the exchange of information and documents about the professional activities.
2. An MoU in the field of higher education for promoting co-operation through organizing seminars, lectures, and scientific conferences and for strengthening graduate programs between higher education institutions in the two countries.
3. An MoU in the fields of information technology and communication for using ICT in order to develop international competitiveness in the field of IT.
4. An MoU in the fields of health and medical sciences to promote co-operation and exchange of expertise in the field of public health.
5. An MoU in the fields of youth and sports, aiming to encourage youth communication between the two countries through the exchange of expertise related to the protection of athletes, sports medicine, anti-doping and attention to the sport of persons with disabilities.
6. An MoU in the field of culture, to promote relations between the two countries’ peoples through the organisation of cultural activities and the exchange of expertise.
7. An agreement on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
8. An agreement on co-operation and mutual assistance in customs affairs and the plan of action between the Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and Turkish Entrepreneurship Strategy and Action Plan organization (KOSGEB).
9. An MoU in the field of agriculture, to develop co-operation between the two countries in the fields of agriculture and food industry.
10. An MoU for co-operation between Qatar General Organisation for Standardisation (QS) and Turkish Standards Institution (TSE).
11. An MoU in the field of organizing exhibitions aimed at the exchanging experiences, information, data and statistics between the two countries in addition to exploring marketing opportunities.
12. An MoU for co-operation between Qatar’s Economic Zones Company (Manateq) and the department of free zones in the Turkish Ministry of Economy.
13. An MoU for co-operation in the field of defence between the governments of Qatar and Turkey.
Following the agreements and MoUs’ signing, the final communique of the second meeting of the Qatari-Turkish Supreme Strategic Committee was signed.
