Director of Communications Altun remarked, “Türkiye is branding itself today under the leadership of our President, with its proactive stance in the face of global crises and diplomatic, political, humanitarian, military and economical solutions developed along the axis of deep-rooted values.”
The Presidency's Directorate of Communications hosted a panel discussion on "Türkiye-Qatar Nation Branding" in Doha as part of the FIFA World Cup 2022 organisation.
Director of Communications Altun stated in a video message to panellists that Türkiye and Qatar are two friendly and brotherly countries that have overcome the challenges they faced on the world stage through strong cooperation and common will.
Director of Communications said that today, they are working to improve their relations and expand their areas of cooperation in almost every field, adding, “The organisation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will start tomorrow with an opening ceremony attended by our President, also reflects the strength of our friendship. In accordance with the "Protocol on the Implementation of the Letter of Intent between Türkiye and Qatar on Cooperation in the Fulfilment of Large-Scale Organisations" signed by the two countries, we are collaborating to ensure the safe execution.”
Director of Communications Altun reported that more than 3,000 of the Turkish police and security personnel are conducting a joint security operation with their Qatari counterparts and wished success to the General Directorate of Security and its personnel who have taken part in the organisation.
“Qatar offers significant opportunities for Turkish investors”
Director of Communications Altun marked the future of the strong brotherly relations between Türkiye and Qatar as one of long and fruitful cooperation, noting that the relations, which have made a significant leap in the last 20 years, continue to strengthen, particularly in the fields of regional security and defence, as well as health, trade, investment, energy, civil aviation, tourism, culture, and education.
Director of Communications Altun emphasised how Türkiye and Qatar are moving forward with the goal of achieving exemplary success while expanding relations in all spheres, saying, “Our President encourages our relevant institutions to strengthen and intensify their cooperation with Qatar at all levels. The fact that our trade volume has reached approximately 1.8 billion dollars demonstrates the level attained by our relations with the desire for strategic partnership. Qatari investments in our country have reached 33.2 billion dollars. Similarly, Qatar offers significant opportunities for Turkish investors.”
“We aim for effective coordination in the fight against disinformation”
Recalling how they have expanded the cooperation model established based on a complementary partnership approach between Türkiye and Qatar to include the field of media and journalism, Director of Communications Altun reported that they laid the groundwork for their cooperation with the agreements that were signed following the 8th Türkiye-Qatar High Strategic Committee Meeting held in İstanbul on October 14.
Citing the 11 cooperation agreements, including the Protocol on Cooperation in the Fields of Media and Communication and the Protocol on Cooperation between the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation and Qatar TV that were signed in the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, Director of Communications Altun said:
"Within the scope of the agreements, we intend to intensify mutual visits of media and communication representatives, cooperate on mutual media education and activities, and, most importantly, effectively coordinate the fight against disinformation, the plague of our time. In this regard, I would like to state that we consider the outcomes of the panel we convened here to be crucial to the cooperation between our institutions. "
"Nation brand identities are crucial"
Underlining that in the international system, which is undergoing a communication-based transformation, the brand value of countries has assumed a central role in economic and political relations, Director of Communications Altun said that today, a country's brand value is the sum of its identity and reputation values.
Emphasising that for nations to realise the ideals and values they espouse, nation brand identities are crucial, Director of Communications Altun stated that every diplomatic step determines and reinforces the standing of the nations in the world.
Stating that Türkiye undertakes major tasks in establishing regional and global stability, in line with its political stance of assuming responsibility for the common good, Director of Communications Altun added:
"Together with our friends, we are advancing along a political path that supports peace, and we are standing by the oppressed. In accordance with this strong and resolute stance, Türkiye is branding itself today under the leadership of our President, with its proactive stance in the face of global crises and diplomatic, political, humanitarian, military and economical solutions developed along the axis of deep-rooted values.
Today, despite current difficulties on the world stage, we are producing our national products with the will of Türkiye, and their success is admired with envy. Bayraktar TB-2 UAV/SİHA systems undertake missions in the fight against international terrorism and the establishment of peace and stability, while our national helicopters, marine vehicles, unmanned and autonomous platforms, as well as our national automobile TOGG, place Türkiye at a significant point in the technology classification of the future."
"Türkiye brand has become the strongest brand in our region"
Director of Communications Altun emphasised that in the light of our civilisation brand, in line with the resolute stance of our President, the Türkiye brand has become the strongest brand in our region thanks to the success of "Made in Türkiye" products.
Stating that Türkiye's efforts for sustainable development, its climate and environment-friendly policies, its history, culture, art, and civilisation values, touristic cities, nature, and gastronomy are inseparable components of the Türkiye brand, Director of Communications Altun reported that in this regard, the decision to move from Turkey to Türkiye is an important step that reveals the strategy of our branding activities.
Indicating that within the scope of their efforts, they are effectively communicating Türkiye's story to the international public through a branding strategy that conceptualises key elements of the country's common identity, Director of Communications Altun shared:
"As the Directorate of Communications, our objective is to strengthen the Türkiye brand, along the axis of an original, courageous and honest political stance, with all the values built on our cultural heritage. We attach importance to our cooperation with the friendly and brotherly Qatar in this field, as we do in all others. On this occasion, I hope that our panel will make significant contributions to establishing the interaction that will transform the existing synergy between our countries into strength for our region."
