The Emir of Qatar met here yesterday with the Prime Minister of Turkey to discuss political and economic ties in a bid to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.
The visit of the Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Qatar is part of a three-day tour of the region that is aimed to consolidate support of the Gulf countries in this critical period of relations with the European Union (EU), political analysts say.
Erdogan, who was accompanied by the minister of defence and deputy minister of foreign trade and a delegation of 80 Turkish businessmen, met with His Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and other top ministers and officials.
Speaking to Gulf News, Naci Saribas, the Turkish Ambassador to Qatar, said talks focused on the political situation in the region and Iraq in particular, as well as on bilateral trade and ways of enhancing business ventures and activating business agreements already in place.
The latest developments in Iraq were expected to top the agenda of Erdogan's meetings with the Qatari officials, although the prime minister and the other delegates were tightlipped on the discussions. Turkey is concerned about the possibility of a tripartite division of Iraq and a possible growing independence of the northern Kurdish region of the country, political analysts have been speculating.
Gulf News
