ISTANBUL — As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rattle global economies, Turkish banking officials have been seeking fiscal support from a number of countries and Qatar was the first to respond.

On Wednesday, Qatar expanded an existing swap deal to $15 billion, raising the prior limit from $5 billion to help bolster depleted Turkish central bank reserves and help steady the lira. The move underlines strong relations between the two nations, which opened swap arrangements during a 2018 currency crisis in Turkey and continue to cooperate amid a Saudi Arabia-United Arab Emirates-led economic blockade on Qatar.

In a statement, the Turkish central bank said the expansion sought to “facilitate bilateral trade in respective local currencies and to support financial stability of the two countries.” The deal will allow the trade of Turkish liras for Qatari riyals, which are pegged to the US dollar.

Selva Demiralp, a professor of economics at Koc University and director of the Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum, said the swap line could balance the increase in domestic money supply with foreign currency and help stem the depreciation of the lira, but noted Turkey’s central bank will face difficulties in stimulating the economy amid the global downturn.