Whiffs of cool breezes seem to be blowing in the usually warm ties between Turkey and Qatar, who have been foul-weather friends to each other in the past several years. Qatar’s pledge to invest $15 billion in Turkey, made at the height of Turkey’s currency crisis last year, has caused disappointment. Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who owes President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a debt of gratitude for Ankara’s support against the Saudi-led siege of the tiny emirate, has failed to fully deliver on his promises. And what is more, Qatari investors have begun to pull out of Turkey in the midst of ongoing economic turmoil. 

In the first five months of the year, $4.6 billion in Qatari investments exited the Istanbul stock exchange, according to figures from Turkey’s Central Securities Depository cited in the financial daily Dunya. Portfolios held by Qatari investors totaled about 10.2 billion Turkish liras ($1.8 billion) in May, decreasing more than 30% from 14.7 billion liras ($2.5 billion) in December.

In terms of foreign direct investment, Qataris contributed $35 million to the total of $3.2 billion in the first four months of the year, including $1.9 million invested in real estate. In the same period in 2018, foreign direct investment from Qatar was $73 million. 

Those who are loath to see the friendship called into question maintain that the investment pledges have been fulfilled. Yousuf al-Jaida, the head of the Qatar Financial Center, told an economic forum in Turkey in March that Qatari investments in Turkey had exceeded $20 billion, and that the emir had made sure that the $15 billion pledge was completed in August 2018.