Turkey and the United Arab Emirates said they would work on better trade ties and explore defence industry cooperation as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the country on Monday, further putting aside a long time regional rivalry.
Erdogan met with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the UAE’s capital, the second meeting in three months.
The sides signed 13 cooperation deals and will explore developing defence industry cooperation, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said, without giving details.
UAE – Turkey trade ties
The UAE had signed a $4.9 billion currency swap with Turkey in January, and has outlined plans for a $10bn fund to support investments as it seeks to at least double bilateral trade.
Non-oil trade between the two countries reached $13.7bn in 2021, a 54 percent increase on 2020 and 86 percent increase on 2019, according to the UAE Economy Ministry. The UAE is confident that non-oil bilateral trade will exceed $30bn within five years, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade Thani Al Zeyoudi said.
Discussions on investments are now happening at the business-to-business level and sectors include food security, medical services, logistics, industry and e-commerce, he added.
The UAE has said it wants to benefit from Turkey’s logistical ties with the rest of the world, its investments in the industrial sector and its skilled labour.
Turkey is battling inflation of almost 50 percent, and a lira that lost as much as half its value against the dollar before the government intervened at the end of December to stem the currency’s decline. Fitch Ratings cut Turkey’s sovereign credit rating further into junk over the weekend.
The UAE is working on comprehensive economic partnership agreements with several fast-growing economies as it seeks to cement its position as a global trade hub. It has started talks with India, Indonesia, Israel and Georgia, and plans to add the Philippines.
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