Qatar defies Trump, bails out Turkey with $15bn loan pledge

ANKARA:- Qatar's emir has pledged to invest $15 billion in the Turkish economy after arriving in Istanbul to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish state media reported.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani made the investment promise amid a bitter dispute between Ankara and Washington that has battered the Turkish lira.

"Qatar has pledged $15 billion of direct investments in Turkey," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin tweeted.

"Turkish-Qatari relations are based on solid foundations of true friendship and solidarity," he said.

Qatar state media said Sheikh Tamim met Erdogan to discuss "strengthening strategic cooperation".

Earlier on Wednesday, the Qatari Ambassador to Turkey said Doha will support Turkey following recently-imposed US sanctions on the country.

"Qatar is always proactive in supporting its Turkish brothers," Salem bin Mubarak al-Shafi told Turkish state media.

"Qataris have recently bought tens of millions of dollars worth of Turkish lira with a view to supporting the Turkish economy," he added.

Turkey has been a key backer of Qatar since the gas-rich Gulf state was blockaded by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain in June last year.

Erdogan has strongly denounced the sanctions against Doha and sent cargo ships laden with food to the besieged emirate when Saudi Arabia closed Qatar's only land borders and other Gulf states ended flights and shipping routes to the country.

Turkey has been rocked in recent days by a sharp decline in the value of its lira after US President Donald Trump tweeted last Friday that Washington was doubling aluminium and steel tariffs for Ankara.

Washington's move came during an ongoing dispute over Turkey's holding of a US pastor for two years.

In response, Erdogan has called for a boycott of US electrical goods while Ankara has sharply hiked tariffs on some US goods.