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22:15 GMT
DOHA, April 28 (KUNA) -- Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday his country attaches great importance to the negotiations on establishing a joint free trade area (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries.
Turkey looks at the State of Qatar as one of the main pillars in the GCC economies that have a lot of promising investment opportunities, he said.
Davutoglu made the comments while attending the Turkish-Qatari Forum together with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The Turkish-Qatari trade volume hit USD 1.3 billion last year, yet it is still below Turkey's expectations, he said, noting that Turkey seeks to double the figure twice in the coming years.
He stressed that the State of Qatar has a capital increases day to day and that Turkish companies operating in the field of construction, consulting and security amounted to USD 15.300 billion, saying the hosting of the 2022 FIFA World and the Qatar National Vision 2030 would provide huge opportunities.
The Turkish premier described his talks with Qatari senior officials as fruitful stemming from honest brotherhood, noting that businessmen in both countries would not face any problems regarding the bureaucratic procedures, according to Qatar News Agency (QNA).
Davutoglu stressed the need to coordinate efforts and establish a partnership in the medical field in light of the common possibilities that will undoubtedly propel the medical tourism sector, saying his discussions included ways to accept the Turkish doctors wishing to work in Qatar.
"We want more Qatari investment in industry in the coming period," he added.
Regarding the tourism sector, Davutoglu said that 36,000 Qataris visited Turkey last year, calling for pushing forward cooperation in the field of tourism investment and other cultural fields.
For his part, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of the Qatari Businessmen Association, said that the exchange of visits by Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al -Thani and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had resulted in the formation of the joint Supreme Council for Strategic Cooperation.
The Council gave momentum to the Qatari-Turkish partnership and became a cornerstone of the economic cooperation between the two countries, he said.
He welcomed Davutoglu's visit, saying it comes within the framework of the joint efforts to take the partenrship to new height.
The many agreements that had been signed during the last period would improve the cooperation between the two countries to a higher level, especially the economic and financial and investment domains, in addition to energy, science and technology fields, he went on.
Sheikh Faisal stated that the two countries share the desire to achieve economic integration, noting that Turkish companies were awarded contracts of 119 projects worth more than USD 15 billion in Qatar.
"We are happy to deal with Turkish companies for their diverse expertise and high technology.
"On the other hand, Qatari businessmen are active in the real estate sector in Turkey, in addition to services, and banks, where many of them prefer to invest in real estate, land and hotels," he added. (pickup previous)
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