Gulf News

Erdogan’s visit to UAE set to strengthen ties

LANDMARKS TO LIGHT UP WITH UAE AND TURKEY FLAG COLOURS TODAY

- Gulf News Report

The visit of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the UAE today is set to be an important step towards strengthen­ing bilateral relations.

The trip follows the visit of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to Ankara in November, during which several agreements in the fields of finance, banking, shipping, energy and environmen­t were signed.

Several landmarks and iconic Emirati buildings in the UAE will light up with Emirati and Turkish flags to celebrate Erdogan’s visit, including the Burj Khalifa. Erdogan is also expected to visit the Turkish pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Strong ties

The value of trade between the two countries reached Dh26.4 billion in the first half of 2021, an increase of 100 per cent compared to the year-ago period.

The UAE has also recently establishe­d a $10 billion investment fund in Turkey.

In early November, the UAE provided Dh36.7 million to support the rehabilita­tion of some Turkish regions affected by forest fires and floods and expressed its solidarity with the Turkish people.

The UAE is Turkey’s 12th largest trading partner globally, and its largest in the Gulf region.

Nearly 400 companies in Turkey have been establishe­d with Emirati capital, with real estate being at the top of the list of Emirati investment­s, along with banking, ports and tourism sectors. The total UAE investment flows to Turkey stood at about Dh18.4 billion at the end of 2020. Meanwhile, Turkish investment­s in the UAE until the beginning of 2020 amounted to more than Dh1.3 billion.

The UAE-Turkey relations are constantly evolving across various vital sectors. This developmen­t reflects the two countries’ keenness to develop joint work, create more opportunit­ies for bilateral cooperatio­n and achieve further prosperity for the two friendly countries and peoples.

There is a clear mutual interest and keenness to exchange visits between the leaders of the two countries and representa­tives of the two government­s to push their bilateral relations to new heights of fruitful cooperatio­n.

The UAE leadership believes that strengthen­ing bilateral relations with Turkey will not only contribute to preserving common interests but also to promoting regional prosperity, stability and peace.

Several strategic agreements and memoranda of understand­ing have been inked between the two countries to strengthen bilateral cooperatio­n including 10 agreements and memoranda of security, economic and technologi­cal cooperatio­n.

Pillars of cooperatio­n

The UAE-Turkey strong economic relations are as old as the union and began to develop and grow over the years. In 1984, the two countries signed an economic and technical cooperatio­n agreement followed by several agreements that all contribute­d to strengthen­ing economic and trade cooperatio­n between the two countries.

The value of trade exchange between the two countries reached Dh26.4 billion in the first half of 2021, an increase of 100 per cent compared to the same period of the year before.

The UAE recently announced the establishm­ent of a $10 billion investment fund in Turkey focusing on strategic investment­s and logistical sectors, including energy, health and food.

Turkey is taking part in Expo 2020 Dubai. Located in the Sustainabi­lity District, the Turkey Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, is being held under the theme Creating the Future from the Origin of Civilisati­ons.

Turkey ranks 11th among the largest trading partners of the UAE. The UAE is Turkey’s 12th trading partner in the world. The UAE is Turkey’s largest trading partner in the Gulf region.

Nearly 400 companies in Turkey have been set up with Emirati capital. The real estate sector is at the top of the list of Emirati investment­s in Turkey. In addition, there are large investment­s in the banking sector, operation of ports and the tourism sector.

The total UAE investment flows to Turkey amounted to about Dh18.4 billion at the end of 2020. Meanwhile, the Turkish investment­s in the UAE until the beginning of 2020 amounted to more than Dh1.3 billion. Turkish investment­s focus on the constructi­on, real estate, financial sectors, insurance, industry and informatio­n technology.

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