“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 stated, speaking at a meeting of automotive manufacturer BMC in Northwestern province of Sakarya, Anadolu news agency reported.
Erdogan stressed 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.
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