By NNN-KUNA
Doha : Visiting Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin-Jasim Bin-Jabir Al-Thani inaugurated here Wednesday evening the First Turkish-Qatari Business Forum.
On the sidelines of the opening session of the forum, two documents on economic and investment cooperation were signed.
The first agreement signed by Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) and Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges aims to boost economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.
The second, signed by the QBA and the Foreign Economic Relations Board of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, envisages launching a Turkish-Qatari business council to enhance investment and business exchanges between the two countries.
The ongoing forum probes ways to promote ties between businesspeople of the two sides and ponders new investment opportunities in the two countries.
In his address to the opening session of the forum, Al-Thani, also a Foreign Minister, hailed the Qatari-Turkish ties as “historical and very important.” “Qatar attributes great importance to the development of its ties with Turkey,” he said, voicing hope that the forum would enhance the bilateral economic and trade ties.
“Despite their steady progress in the recent years, the economic and trade ties fall short of reaching the level of the political ones,” he noted.
Al-Thani also hailed Gul’s visit to Qatar as “new starting point for cooperation in the economic, trade and investment fields.” For his part, Gul said in a similar address that the forum would push forward the cooperation between the two countries in all fields.
He reviewed the recent investment legislation of Turkey, urging the Qatari investors to tap the promising investment opportunities in his country.
Gul called on Qatari businesspeople to probe chances of launching joint ventures with their Turkish counterparts.
“Turkey is set to sign a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council which will open the door wide for economic and trade cooperation as well as mutual investments,” he disclosed.
Turkey, the sixth strongest economy in Europe, has also started talks on EU membership, Gul recalled.
Gul arrived in Doha Tuesday for a three-day official visit to Qatar.