Türkiye, UAE strengthen strategic cooperation with series of deals

By Idiris Okuduci

BEIRUT (AA) - Bilateral relations between Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates continue to improve with new commercial and economic cooperation deals reached over the last two years.

Türkiye's 46 years of diplomatic relations with the UAE, one of the key countries of the Gulf region with a population of 9.5 million, have been growing stronger in every area, especially in recent years.

Türkiye is among the top 10 commercial partners of the UAE, which stands out with its investments in fields such as tourism and high technology, as well as rich oil fields.

As part of his gulf tour, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who also visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar this week, is visiting the UAE on Wednesday.

The countries have seen busy diplomatic traffic, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, to strengthen bilateral relations in all areas.

UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan paid the first visit in this process, in August 2021, to strengthen diplomatic ties.

After a long break, the president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also paid an official visit to the capital Ankara in November 2021.

In response, President Erdogan held talks in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 14, 2022.

This March, Erdogan and Al Nahyan also held a videoconference summit.

After this summit, Al Nahyan came to Istanbul on June 10 with the aim of strengthening bilateral strategic relations and advancing their economic partnerships.

The two leaders watched the UEFA Champions League final played at Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul between Manchester City and Inter.

Türkiye's Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek also met with President Al Nahyan on June 22 as part of their contacts in Abu Dhabi.

- $10B fund for Türkiye

During Al Nahyan's visit in November 2021, the two countries signed 10 agreements in a number of fields, including finance and banking.

The UAE announced in November 2021 that it had allocated a fund worth $10 billion to invest in Türkiye.

New agreements were also signed during President Erdogan's visit to Abu Dhabi in February 2022 in the fields of the defense industry, health, climate change, industry, technology, culture, agriculture, trade, economy, maritime transport, youth, disaster management, meteorology, and communication.

The Türkiye-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was signed on March 3 in Abu Dhabi to lay the foundations for boosting the non-oil trade volume between the countries.

The agreement seeks to foster the creation of some 25,000 jobs in the UAE and 100,000 jobs in Türkiye.

Tugay Tuncer, Türkiye's ambassador to Abu Dhabi, said in a statement on June 10 that the non-oil trade volume was approximately $19 billion in 2022, and that the two countries are striving to increase this to $40 billion within five years.

The non-oil trade volume between the two countries in 2021was around $13 billion.

- Earthquake relief

The UAE was among countries sending relief to Türkiye after two devastating earthquakes struck earlier this year.

President Al Nahyan announced financial aid worth $50 million on Feb. 7, a day after the quakes.

The mother of the president, Fatima bint Mubarak, also donated $13.6 million for quake victims.

The UAE also sent 906 tons of food, medical supplies, and tents via 58 relief planes, and a 134-person search and rescue team.

The UAE announced on Feb. 13 that it had established a 54-bed field hospital, including four intensive care beds, and a 200-bed mobile hospital in Türkiye.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul