- A week since the Turkish
lira crisis hit the headlines
and whilst Erdogan and Trump play out
a diplomatic war of words,
the Turkish lira improved from record lows
after Qatar's Sheikh ,
Thamim bin Hamad Al Thani,
said Qatar was standing
by it brothers in Turkey,
as he announced a $15 billion investment
into the country's
financial markets and banks.
But why has Qatar entered the scene
and helped to temporarily
temper the crisis?
I'm Kasim, this is KJ
Vids, and in this video,
we will look at the Qatar-Turkish alliance
and the motive that Qatar
has in allying with Turkey.
Qatar and Turkey are bound
by strategic relations
at the political, economic
and military levels.
In 2015, Qatar and Turkey established
the Supreme Strategic Committee
to look after and
enhance the relationship.
Militarily, two days after
the start of the Gulf crisis,
Turkey's parliament
ratified two agreements
allowing Turkish troops
to be deployed in Qatar
and another approving an accord
between the two countries
on military training cooperation.
The agreements aimed to raise
Qatar's defence capabilities
and maintain security and
stability in the region
and the first batch of Turkish troops
arrived at the Tariq ibn
Ziyad military base in 2015.
On June, 2017, five armoured
vehicles also arrived in Doha.
The base can accommodate
up to 5,000 soldiers.
Then, in January 2018, the
Turkish ambassador to Qatar
said that Turkey will also deploy
air and naval forces in Qatar.
The blockading countries
led by Saudi Arabia
have set the closure of
the Turkish base in Qatar
as one of 13 conditions to
restore relations with Doha.
When the Gulf crisis
erupted, and Saudi Arabia
closed Qatar's only land border,
it blocked many vital
imports from reaching Qatar,
including basic food supplies.
To avoid potential food shortages,
in less than 48 hours of the blockade,
Turkey sent cargo planes full
of milk, yoghourt, and poultry.
Turkish exports to Qatar increased by 90%
in the four months since
the blockade started.
But because of longer import routes,
Qatari food and beverage
prices jumped 4.2% in August.
Turkish ambassador to
Qatar, Fikret Ozer, said,
"We are bringing many products here,
"but there is no land route
between Turkey and Qatar.
"But now there is a cooperation
between Qatar and Iran
"and Turkey, and there will be a new route
"between these countries."
Qatar has invested $444 million
in a 530,000 square metre
food storage and processing
facility at its Hamad port.
Turkey hopes its improved
trade relations with Qatar
will outlive the blockade.
"The Turkish products we export
are of very high quality.
"Even if the embargo on Qatar is lifted,
"our products will
permanently stay there."
Even before the blockade,
Qatar has a lot of trust
in the Turkish economy.
In May, Qatar's Chamber of Commerce
Mohamed bin Twar said,
"Turkish companies here
are handling projects
"worth about $11.6 billion in Qatar,
"most of which is put into
FIFA World Cup 2022 projects.
"Qatar's investment to
Turkey is over $20 billion,
"the second highest value of investments
by any country in Turkey."
Turkish media reported Qatar would invest
a further $19 billion in Turkey in 2018,
with $650 million going to
agriculture and livestock.
Due to its attractive
investment advantages
as well as its strong
relations with Qatar,
the Qatar Chamber encourages
Qatari businessmen
to invest in Turkey.
There have also been numerous
high-level meetings in recent years,
and during the attempted
Turkish coup in 2016,
Qatar quickly offered
support to its government,
and, as noted by the
Turkish ambassador to Qatar,
"Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al
Thani was the first leader to
"call President Erdogan
and express support
"to our government and Turkish people."
Although Qatar has vast amounts of wealth
and are mineral-rich,
Qatar is one of the smallest
states in the Middle East,
surrounded by much larger powers.
To protect Qatar's
sovereignty and security,
officials in Doha have historically
depended upon foreign support for defence.
Doha's strategy for international security
hinges on embracing a host of
states as defence partners,
pitting their competing
geopolitical interests
against one another,
and advancing Qatar's national
interests in the process.
Despite being a G.C.C. member,
Qatar has long considered Saudi Arabia
an overbearing neighbour
that does not always respect
the tiny Gulf Arab state's
sovereignty and independence.
They have had their
differences in the past
and building relations
with Turkey is one way
for Qatar to keep some of its options open
and maintain some room to manoeuvre
beneath the dominant Saudi position.
The close military ties
between Turkey and Qatar
are not intended to be a
substitution for the key alliance
Qatar has with the United
States, as the host of USCENTCOM.
Rather, it factors into Doha's strategy
of diversifying the emirate's
web of defence partners,
whilst providing more influential
countries around the world
with higher stakes in a
stable and prosperous Qatar.
(inspiring music)
