Turkey, UAE officials vow to boost economic, trade ties

ANKARA

AA photo

Senior Turkish and U.A.E. officials pledged to increase economic and trade relations at a high-level meeting in Ankara on Feb. 7.        

The ninth Turkey-U.A.E. Joint Economic Committee brought Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri, U.A.E.’s economy minister, to the Turkish capital to meet Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek.        

Trade volume between the two countries increased 36 percent in the last 12 months despite total global trade increasing only 1.7 percent, Şimşek said, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.     
    
“We will work to expand the volume of mutual investment. We also want to boost our cooperation in banking and Islamic finance areas,” he added.        

Şimşek said the two countries wanted to improve cooperation in the halal food sector within the standards of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.        

“We hope that the products, which are approved by Turkish halal institutions, will enter the U.A.E. market without any additional accreditation by ensuring the improvement of halal trade among Islamic countries and overcoming technical obstacles,” he said.  
      
Şimşek said he invited investors from the U.A.E. to see Turkish privatization projects in sectors such as mining, electricity generation, sugar processing plants and ports.
        
Al-Mansouri said a free trade agreement between Turkey and the Gulf countries would help regional development.        

“Stability in the region is key for us. Economic development in neighboring countries is vital. An FTA will help this,” he said.        

Turkey’s exports to the U.A.E. stood at $5.4 billion.