Turkey seeks to establish a land route via Iran for trade with Qatar which has relied on both countries for sourcing food since a diplomatic crisis broke out with Saudi Arabia.
Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci on Saturday was in Tehran where he was expected to discuss using Iran’s land route to facilitate trade with Qatar, Anadolu quoted him as saying.
"We're thinking about alternatives for land trade routes with Qatar but the easiest way is passing through Iran," Zeybekci said, according to the news agency.
"We want to meet all of Qatar's needs. We want all goods providers in Turkey to sell products, including cleaning materials, domestic appliances and textile, in Qatar," he noted.
Following a land, air and sea blockade imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, Turkey has amplified its food exports to Qatar, but Zeybekci said using cargo planes to carry products was not sustainable.
"We want to make it economic, sustainable and reliable," Zeybekci added, saying shipments by sea will gain importance.
“We foresee that at least four large tonnage ships would go to Qatar monthly but the land route is an alternative for carrying smaller packages," Zeybekci said.
Turkey's exports to Qatar jumped to $52.4 million in June from $36.2 million a month earlier.
Doha, with its population of 2.6 million, relies on Persian Gulf neighbors for 80 percent of food imports. However, its spat with the Saudi-led quartet has prompted the country to accelerate relationship with Iran and Turkey.
Iran acted quickly as soon as the spat began, sending several planeloads and ships of food and other commodities across the Persian Gulf to Qatar.
Qatar and Iran share management of the world's largest gas field, South Pars, in the Persian Gulf.
