The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) announced May 23 the approval of the membership application of Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, created hastily last year amid criticism that it looks like a “parallel budget” to deal with growing economic woes. The IFSWF, a global network of sovereign wealth funds, includes members from more than 30 countries representing over $3 trillion of global assets under management.

The Turkey Wealth Fund (TVF), which manages assets worth about $40 billion, is still in a fledgling stage, trying to grow through joint funds with other countries. The first such fund was established with Russia, and a protocol was signed with Qatar for the second one. The accord triggered reports in April that Caykur, the state-owned tea giant in the TVF portfolio, had been sold to the Qataris, which officials denied. What is actually on the cards, though, is Caykur’s handover to the Turkish-Qatari fund as part of other potential moves to flesh out the joint venture.

Qatar has recently emerged as one of the most important states for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). After a visit to Qatar in February, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan summarized how Ankara views the economic value of bilateral ties. Stressing that Qatari investments in Turkey amounted to $1.2 billion, Erdogan said, “We are working on increasing them. [The Qataris] took an important step by acquiring Digiturk. As you know, Qatar became also a 50% stakeholder in BMC. During the Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee meeting in Trabzon, I took the Qatari emir on a helicopter tour. It was the snow season, and when I showed him the mountains, he asked whether any effort was under way for winter tourism in the area. I suggested we could make some joint investments there. The Qataris have also two banks in Turkey [Finansbank and ABank]. Additionally, in 2017, we will carry out defense industry projects worth $2 billion.”

According to Economy Ministry data, Qatari investments in Turkey stand at about $1.5 billion. This is a drop in the bucket, given that Qatar’s direct investments overseas amount to $53 billion, while foreign direct investment in Qatar is worth $36 billion.