Erdogan: Turkish-Qatari ties grow steadily

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that the relations between his country and Qatar witness a significant development on various levels. Speaking to reporters during the inauguration of Turkish embassy new building here, Erdogan said the friendly relations with the State of Qatar will be further strengthened through joint investments. The two countries maintain deep-rooted historical relations which date back to long centuries ago, he said, noting that the diplomatic ties were established by the two countries in 1979. Erdogan pointed out that Turkey and Qatar have identical views on the regional and international issues and said "we do our best with the State of Qatar in order to transform the region into a zone of peace." He expressed his pleasure to see about 35 out of 60 Turkish companies carrying out projects in the field of contracting totaling USD 35 billion, stressing continuation of cultural and humanitarian contacts and swaps between the two countries. The Turkish premier said they received around 7,600 Qatari tourists in 2011 and this number increased to 14,000 Qatari tourists, an 85 percent jump in 2012. The Turkish premier Erdogan was accompanied during the embassy opening ceremony by Qatari Sheikh Abdulrahman Bin Khalifa Bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani, the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning. A number of their dignitaries from Arab and foreign ambassadors accredited to Qatar also attended the opening ceremony.