Turkey, Qatar discuss transportation ties

Turkey's Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication Ahmet Arslan held talks Sunday in Doha with his Qatari counterpart Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti.

Speaking to reporters, Arslan said they discussed means of bolstering cooperation between Ankara and Doha.

He called for pursuing dialogue for solving the Gulf crisis, which began in June when four Arab countries-Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain-cut off ties with Qatar.

The four states accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, a claim vehemently denied by Doha.

"Turkey will continue to take all necessary steps to overcome this crisis," he said.

"Qatari companies operating in Turkey and Turkish firms working in Qatar take our commercial ties to a higher level," Arslan said. "My counterpart and I cooperate to realize our goals of improving bilateral ties in the fields of transportation and communication."

He said both Turkey and Qatar are ready to assess land, sea and air transportation opportunities and take concrete steps towards deepening cooperation in the transportation field.

"Qatar Airlines will commence flights between Adana and Doha as of November 6; these upcoming flights will benefit Qatari and Turkish citizens along with the civil aviation sector," Arslan added.

The Turkish minister said he invited his Qatari counterpart to the International E-Commerce Conference, to be held on November 20-21 in Antalya.

He voiced hope that the upcoming meeting of the Turkey-Qatar High Strategic Committee, which will be held in Doha, would serve the best of both countries.

Arslan is scheduled to meet Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani next week.

* Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara