Turkey-Qatar cooperation to deepen: President Erdogan

By Ahmet Salih Alacaci

ANKARA (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkey's cooperation with Qatar will continue to strengthen in various sectors including defense, trade, tourism and energy.

“We have 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, speaking at a meeting of automotive manufacturer BMC in Turkey’s northwestern province of Sakarya.

Erdogan underlined that Turkey’s progress would continue in the defense industry which he said had more than halved its foreign dependence from 80 percent in 2002 to 35 percent at present.

“Turkey’s military capacity and economic, political and diplomatic capabilities must be robust,” he said, adding that the deterrence of its defense sector had to be “particularly” high.