Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to pay an official visit to Qatar on Dec. 4 to discuss trade and economic relations between Turkey and Qatar as well as the latest developments in the Middle East Today`s Zaman reported.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Qatar on Nov. 23 and 24 to prepare the ground for the prime minister's visit. Erdogan is expected to express Turkey's desire to increase bilateral trade volume and investments and to discuss the Syrian unrest as well as the diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Egypt, whose relations deteriorated after the Egyptian coup on July 3.
Davutoglu met with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in what was Turkey's first official visit to Qatar since the sheikh became emir. He was also hosted by Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah and Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani. Both sides also expressed their will and determination to further develop Turkish-Qatari relations.
Erdogan's last visit to Qatar was in January. He also met with the emir in İstanbul in late September to discuss the latest developments in the region, particularly with regard to the situations in Syria and Egypt.
The Syrian crisis, expected to be one of the main topics during Erdogan's visit, was also on Davutoglu's agenda while in Qatar. Turkey and Qatar have adopted a similar diplomatic stance toward the Syrian conflict. They are the two countries that most staunchly desire the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Both countries have hosted a series of meetings to find a solution to the crisis.
The stances of Qatar and Turkey were also the same on the Egyptian coup. Qatar, along with Turkey, had given strong financial and diplomatic support to ousted President Mohammed Morsi's government.