Turkey-UAE sign 13 agreements during Erdoğan's visit
ANKARA
Turkeu and United Arab Emirates on Feb. 14 signed 13 agreements in various fields during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit.
Agreements on the defense industry, health, climate change, industry, technology, trade, economy, culture, agriculture, trade, economy, youth, transportation, disaster management, meteorology, communication, and archive were signed during the meeting between the Turkish and UAE delegation chaired jointly by Erdogan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
His trip to the United Arab Emirates “marked the beginning of a new era in relations,” he told reporters at Istanbul airport before leaving for his two-day trip.
Erdoğan started his two-day visit to the UAE for the first time in nearly a decade to revive relations that were long strained by regional disputes. “We are planning to take steps that will bring relations back to the level they deserve,” he stated.
Recalling his last visit to the UAE in 2013, Erdoğan cited there is a vast potential in the economic and trade ties, expressing his belief that this visit will pave the way for capitalizing on this potential.
The Gulf country is among Turkey’s leading trade partners, he said, adding, “The UAE also contributes to its dynamic economic investment in Turkey. The purpose of our visit is to realize this potential quickly. I will meet with leading investors.”
To greet the Turkish president’s trip, which will take him to the Expo 2020 Dubai world fair on Feb. 15, the UAE lit up the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, in the colors of the Emirati and Turkish flags.
Relations between Turkey and the UAE were severely impacted after a Saudi Arabia-led blockade on Qatar by Arab nations, including the UAE, that lasted from mid-2017 to early last year. Doha is one of Ankara’s closest allies.
The UAE and Turkey backed opposing sides in the Libyan conflict, where a fragile ceasefire has been in place since October 2020.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Ankara last month, making his first official trip to Turkey since 2012 and the highest-level visit by an Emirati official in recent years.
Erdoğan and the crown prince oversaw the signing of several investments and cooperation deals on Nov. 24 last year.
The UAE has allocated a $10 billion fund to invest in Turkey, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company announced.
Turkey and the UAE have agreed to a currency swap deal equivalent to $4.74 billion, the Turkish Central Bank announced on Jan. 19.
During his visit to Abu Dhabi, Erdoğan is expected to sign 12 agreements with UAE partners, ranging from media and communications to economic and defense deals.
Erdoğan said in a weekend op-ed in the Emirati English-language daily Khaleej Times that “Turkey and the UAE together can contribute to regional peace, stability and prosperity.”
“As Turkey, we do not separate the security and stability of the UAE and our other brothers in the Gulf region from the security and stability of our own country,” Erdoğan stated. “We believe wholeheartedly in the importance of deepening our cooperation in this context in the future.”