Turkish FM addresses diplomats’ meeting in UAE

ABU DHABI

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 21 and attended an ambassadors meeting, as Ankara and Abu Dhabi takes steps to mend frayed ties.

Çavuşoğlu addressed the 16th UAE Ambassadors and Representatives of Diplomatic Missions Forum as a guest of honor upon the invitation of his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The visit comes as Turkey has stepped up to restore its ties with the Gulf country recently.

Relations between Turkey and the UAE were heavily strained after a Saudi Arabia-led blockade on Qatar by Arab nations, including the UAE, 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.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan oversaw the signing of several investments and cooperation deals on Nov. 24 last year.

Turkey and the UAE on Feb. 14 signed 13 agreements in various fields during Erdoğan’s visit.

Agreements on the defense industry, health, climate change, industry, technology, trade, economy, culture, agriculture, youth, transportation, disaster management, meteorology, communication and archive were signed during the meeting between the Turkish and UAE delegation chaired jointly by Erdoğan and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince.

Turkish FM to attend OIC meeting

Çavuşoğlu will attend the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) slated for March 22-23, 2022, in Islamabad, the Foreign Ministry said.

During his visit to Islamabad, Çavuşoğlu will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the OIC member states, the statement said.