Erdogan tries to thaw Gulf relations

ABU DHABI // Turkey’s president visited Kuwait yesterday to inaugurate a new airport terminal being built by a Turkish company, and for talks with the nation’s emir.

The meeting was part of an attempt by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to improve relations between Ankara and Gulf countries, which have suffered in the years since the Arab Spring uprisings.

Peace in the world “depends on the stability in our region”, which “depends on our resolute stance”, he said, alongside emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

Mr Erdogan called on Kuwaiti businesses to increase their investments in Turkey from the current US$1.7 billion, or Dh6.24bn.

The new main terminal and expansion project at Kuwait International Airport, worth $4.3bn (Dh15.8bn) was awarded to one of Turkey’s largest builders, Limak Holding.

The expansion is the biggest project to date for a Turkish company in Kuwait.

Relations between Turkey and GCC countries soured after the Arab Spring uprisings, as Ankara supported hardline groups across the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Iranian expansion and the threat of ISIL have forced greater cooperation and coordination.

Sheikh Sabah visited Turkey in March when the countries signed accords, including one dealing with Kuwaiti aid for Syrian refugees in Turkey, and military and economic cooperation. On Monday, Mr Erdogan said that long- stalled talks on a GCC-Turkey free trade zone were under way. There were few details of where that zone might be.

For Turkey, strained relations with its Arab neighbours and Iran, as well as its top trading partners in Europe – particularly Germany – have made it imperative to look to the Arabian Gulf.

“Turkey’s diplomatic row with European countries is having a detrimental effect on the country’s economy, as European investments are declining,” said Jana Jabbour, a political science professor at the Sciences Po university in Paris. “President Erdogan, who knows that his party’s economic achievements were at the heart of his popularity, considers boosting the economy as his top priority, and main challenge.”

Ankara is seeking to bolster ties with Russia and China, but because of its Nato alliance with the US and European powers, “it is impossible for them to accept Turkey in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, for example,” said Baris Doster, at Istanbul’s Marmara University.

“So there is only one chance in the hands of Turkey. It is the Gulf countries.”

Turkey probably sees Kuwait as a good place to focus on because economic ties between the two are already strong. Mr Erdogan said Turkish construction companies had projects worth $6.5bn in the emirate.

Kuwait was also seeking to invest more in Turkey, Ms Jabbour said.

As Gulf countries try to diversify their security relationships away from dependence on Washington, and expand their domestic defence production, Turkey’s arms industry is also likely to play a role in the relationship.

Ankara is aiming to expand its defence industry to $ 25bn in exports by 2023, from $ 1.6bn last year.

But analysts warn that this target is unrealistic, given the structural and technical constraints in Turkey’s arms industry.

“Although Turkey is trying to be a country that can export arms, its capacity is not strong enough to export high-level items” such as fighter jets, Mr Doster said.

Turkey’s largest defence company and a Saudi investment fund launched a joint defence company, Sadec, last year.

And the country’s defence minister said this year that Ankara was in talks with Riyadh for a defence export deal that would be his country’s largest.

While fiscal austerity has made savings across the board key for Gulf countries, defence budgets in the GCC are still among the world’s largest, and Turkey may offer a competitive edge on midtier items in terms of cost and willingness to share technology.

Ankara is a member of Riyadh’s Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism, and is building a permanent base in Qatar that will be staffed by 3,000 Turkish troops.

Turkey and Kuwait already coordinate on Syria.

Turkey, Iran and Russia hosted peace talks in Astana last week that produced an agreement on “de-escalation zones” in Syria, and Mr Erdogan reportedly sought the emir’s assistance in helping to finance them.