The "Declaration of Intent on Facilitating Trade" signed recently between Türkiye and Qatar is expected to play a facilitating role in achieving the $5 billion trade target between the two countries and developing new cooperation opportunities, according to a top official on Saturday.
Eight agreements were signed between Türkiye and Qatar in the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who was visiting Ankara recently.
One of the agreements signed by the relevant ministers was the "Declaration of Intent on Trade Facilitation."
The agreement is anticipated to contribute to further developing Türkiye's economic relations with Qatar, increasing mutual investments, strengthening ties with the business community and advancing the development of both nations.
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat also provided an assessment regarding the signed agreement to Anadolu Agency (AA) on Saturday.
Bolat noted that Türkiye is taking steps to simplify and expedite customs and foreign trade transactions in line with the "World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement" and is carrying out initiatives that pave the way for the business world domestically and internationally.
Highlighting the importance of the Middle East and Gulf regions, he noted that Türkiye is focused on strengthening cooperation to facilitate trade and enhance bilateral economic relations with these areas.
He emphasized that the "declaration of intent" signed between Türkiye and Qatar outlines the framework for efforts to accelerate and simplify customs and foreign trade procedures.
"This agreement marks the first step toward facilitating trade between the two countries. Türkiye and Qatar have demonstrated a commitment to enhancing dialogue and coordination in foreign trade processes," he said.
Bolat explained that the agreement aims to ensure seamless trade flow by identifying and eliminating obstacles in foreign trade processes.
"With the agreement, it is planned to share experiences and best practices related to trade facilitation measures. This new dialogue aims to make customs and foreign trade transactions more efficient, digitize procedures for faster completion, reduce bureaucratic barriers in transportation and transit passages, and create a favorable environment for the business community," he said.
"Leveraging new technological solutions to establish a more transparent, predictable and secure trade system is also one of our main objectives," he added.
Bolat also mentioned that the two countries could establish joint digital platforms, which would contribute to creating the infrastructure needed for the online sharing of documents, monitoring of customs procedures and real-time management of trade data.
He added that joint working groups could be formed to improve processes at the border gates of both countries, and new procedures could be developed to ensure uninterrupted logistics operations.
Bolat noted that economic relations with Qatar have gained momentum in recent years, with the bilateral trade volume reaching $1.3 billion last year and $933 million in the first 10 months of this year.
Recalling the $5 billion trade volume target with Qatar, Bolat said: "With the signed Declaration of Intent, trade between Türkiye and Qatar will become even easier, procedures will be simplified, and this will contribute positively to our foreign trade."
Bolat also touched upon the existing trade relations with Qatar, stating that Turkish contractors have undertaken 198 projects worth $20.3 billion in the country to date.
He mentioned that Turkish companies have recently taken on large-scale metro, highway, military facility and airport expansion projects in Qatar.
"We foresee significant opportunities for our companies, especially in the North Field Expansion Project for natural gas," Bolat said.
The minister also noted that Qatar's direct investment stock value in Türkiye stands at $4.9 billion, while total direct investment from Türkiye to Qatar is around $48 million.
Turkish companies are active in Qatar in sectors such as defense, textiles, electrical cables and services, including restaurant management, he said.
"In this context, our mutual efforts continue to raise these figures to higher levels," he concluded.
