Qatar 'grateful' for food supplies from Turkey
Turkey and Qatar have
established an economic commission to provide necessary food and other needs to
the latter, amid the ongoing row with Gulf countries, Qatar's envoy to Turkey
has said, expressing his country's appreciation for “the Turkish government's
enormous support in these difficult days.”
“Turkey has opened its market to us. We are grateful for
this,” Salem bin Mubarak al-Shafi told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview on June 15.
A number of Arab and Gulf countries under the leadership of
Saudi Arabia imposed tough sanctions on Qatar last week amid accusations that
the tiny Gulf country has been supporting terrorist organizations.
Saudi Arabia's decision to close the land border with Qatar
has caused shortages of food and some dairy products.
Turkey has become one of few countries rushing to the help of
Qatar, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressing that Ankara would not abandon its regional ally.
“The stance that President Erdoğan has taken is a very
honorable one. In this way, we have learned who our real friend is,” al-Shafi
said.
“This kind of support could only be lent by a country with a
vast civilization, culture and history. It's a very big honor for us to see
Turkey standing with us,” he added.
Joint
commission to be established
Al-Shafi stated that the economy ministries of the two
countries have set up an economic commission for delivering Qatar's immediate
needs through business leaders from the two parties.
“Turkey has become very helpful to us to this end. Some big
companies of Qatar have come here and purchased mainly dairy products, because
we had been procuring these from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia decided to impose a
siege on us and it is shameful. Qatar is not a small country and it can get its
needs from other markets. But they have broken the social bonds between our
countries through this siege,” he said.
Al-Shafi also noted that the Turkish authorities had told
them that the “entire Turkish market” was open to Qatari companies, expressing
gratitude for this stance and underlining that Qatar is a “sovereign country
that acts within the boundaries of the law.”
‘We are
stunned by the move'
The ambassador emphasized that Doha was very surprised by the move from neighboring
countries against it, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, claiming
that the accusations were “baseless.”
“We never expected such an act against us, especially during
Ramadan,” al-Shafi said.
Recalling that Saudi King Salman visited Qatar just two
months ago and had never mentioned these accusations, the ambassador also noted
that they have not yet heard the conditions for a return to normalcy in ties
from Saudi-led countries.
“They are always saying they want to resolve this within the
Gulf Cooperation Council, but with no action,” he said.
Turkish
base changed equations
Meanwhile, diplomatic sources have suggested that Turkey's
move to ratify an agreement to implement a military cooperation deal with Qatar
has “changed the equation in the Gulf.”
The message given to regional countries is that Turkey will
“not leave Qatar alone,” sources said, claiming that the base in the country
would “serve the entire region's security and stability.”