Qatar has pledged to inject 15 billion U.S. dollars into Turkey's economy hit by a currency plunge amid its escalating row with the United States, to show support for a regional ally.
The announcement came after a Wednesday meeting between Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara.
The Qatari official media said the lifeline money would go to economic projects, investments and deposits.
Also on Wednesday, Turkey announced steep tariff hikes on U.S. products including cars, tobacco and alcohol, in response to U.S. decision last week to levy tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum.
The funding support promised by Al-Thani sent the weakening Turkish lira, which has been eroded by the political spat between Washington and Ankara, to rally from its record lows on Wednesday and Thursday.
After falling by more than 45 percent against the U.S. dollar since January, lira bounced back to 5.75 on Wednesday, a more than 5 percent gain, and stood at 5.85 on Thursday afternoon.
Turkey is currently grappling with a currency plunge and heightened tensions with the United States, its NATO ally, over its detention of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson over charges of terrorism and involvement in a Turkish failed coup in 2016.
All the charges, however, are viewed by the United States as baseless.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for boycott of American electronic products, accusing its ally of stabbing Turkey in the back.
On Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence confirmed the Trump administration's insistence on Turkey's release of the American clergyman.
Al-Thani is the first foreign head of state to visit Ankara since the beginning of its stand-off with Washington last week.
Turkey and gas-rich Qatar are bound by strategic relations on the political, economic and military fronts. Turkey has sent hundreds of troops to the Qatar-Turkey Combined Joint Force Command, a military base in Qatar's capital Doha.
The Gulf country has moved closer to countries such as Turkey and Iran, after the Saudi-led Arab states severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar last year, accusing Doha of financing terrorism.
Qatar has 20 billion dollars of investments in Turkey, which is one of the top exporters to the kingdom.
Experts believe the Qatari move is a "show of solidarity" toward Turkey for its instant support during the Gulf crisis in the past year.
"Relations between Doha and Ankara are very special, very different from other nations in this region," Serkan Demirtas, a political analyst and journalist, told Xinhua.
Economic analysts, however, are still waiting to see in which fields the pledged money will be invested and how it could help Turkey recover from what its leader calls an "economic war."
