Qatar has always enjoyed a close relationship with Turkey.

When four neighbouring countries decided to impose a unilateral blockade on Qatar, Turkey had been one of the first nations to come to Qatar’s aid by providing it with a new trade route and food materials.

The relationship between the two nations has only strengthened further since then. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his nation’s cooperation with Qatar is set to intensify in various sectors including defence, trade, tourism and energy, reported Al Jazeera.

Erdogan praises Qatar's solidarity with Turkey, saying that Turkey will not forget the solidarity of the Qatari brothers with Turkey during the period from the attempted coup failed in 2016 to the economic attack that targeted the country last August. #QNA

— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) January 13, 2019

“We’ve never forgotten and will never forget the solidarity shown to our country by our Qatari brothers on nearly all issues — from the July 15 coup attempt to the attacks in August on (our) exchange rates (Turkish lira),” Erdogan said, while speaking at a meeting of automotive manufacturer BMC in Turkey’s Sakarya.

Erdogan underlined that Turkey’s progress would continue in the defence industry. He said the country had more than halved its foreign dependence from 80% in 2002 to 35% at present. 

“Turkey’s military capacity and economic, political and diplomatic capabilities must be robust,” he was quoted as saying by The Peninsula.

In August 2018, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pledged to invest $15bn in Turkey, which had been struggling with a currency crisis that saw the lira fall by 45% against the US dollar.

“We have never forgotten and will never forget the solidarity shown to our country by our Qatari brothers on nearly all issues “
Turkish President Erdogan pic.twitter.com/1NfANoxXJ1

— IstandWithQatar.org (@IstandWithQatar) January 13, 2019

“We stand by the brothers in Turkey that have stood with the issues of the Muslim world and with Qatar,” Sheikh Tamim had said in a tweet at the time.

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