Turkey's Erdogan thanks Qatar emir for $15 billion investment, as lira rebounds from record lows

Turkey's president has thanked the Qatari Emir after he pledged $15 billion in investments to invigorate Ankara's economy, prompting a rebound in the battered Turkish lira.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan extended his gratitude to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Wednesday following a meeting between the leaders in Istanbul.

"On behalf of the Turkish people, I sincerely thank Sheikh Tamim and the Qatari people for standing by Turkey," Erdogan said on his Arabic-language Twitter account.

"Without a doubt our strong relationship with Qatar… will continue to evolve in many fields," he added.

Following the investment pledge, the lira has strengthened three percent against the dollar on Thursday, trading at around 5.75 per dollar.

The lira had nosedived in recent weeks, hitting a record low of 7.24 last week, amid a diplomatic and trade dispute with the United States.

Washington imposed sanctions and tariffs over the continued detention of a US pastor, while Turkey retaliated with some $500 million of tariffs on some US imports and said it would boycott US electronic goods.

Turkey has been a key backer of Qatar since the gas-rich emirate was blockaded by a Saudi-led bloc of Arab countries in June last year.

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

Turkey also maintains a military base in Qatar.

Doha has $20 billion worth of investments in Turkey, official figures showed last month, and Ankara is now one of the top exporters to the emirate.

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