UAE, TURKEY HERALD NEW ERA IN TIES
■ PRESIDENT ERDOGAN LANDS IN UAE ON A TWO-DAY VISIT ■ MOHAMMAD BIN ZAYED SAYS VISIT WILL BOOST PARTNERSHIP ■ 13 AGREEMENTS SIGNED TO STRENGHTEN COOPERATION
The UAE and Turkey yesterday signed 13 agreements to strengthen cooperation as Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began a two-day visit to the UAE.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received Erdogan and his delegation at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi.
Erdogan’s visit follows Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed’s visit to Turkey in November.
Welcoming Erdogan, Shaikh Mohammad expressed hope that this “significant visit would create further momentum to strengthening cooperation and building a new prosperous phase of partnerships for the higher good of the two countries, their peoples and all the nations of the region”.
He expressed his appreciation for Turkey’s condemnation of the recent Al Houthi terrorist attacks in the UAE.
Erdogan said: “It gives me great pleasure witnessing the recent acceleration in highlevel contacts”, stressing that “Turkey doesn’t consider the security and stability of all brotherly countries in the Gulf region separate from our own”.
This significant visit will create momentum to strengthening cooperation and building a new prosperous phase of partnerships for the higher good of the two countries.”
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
It gives me great pleasure witnessing the recent acceleration in high-level contacts... Turkey doesn’t consider the security of all countries in the Gulf region separate from our own.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan | President of Turkey
Erdogan pointed out that economic cooperation is a significant driver of the UAE-Turkey relationship, noting that a planned comprehensive economic partnership will create a fresh impetus to double the volume of trade. He pointed out the importance of establishing a joint technology fund and expanding energy cooperation to include renewables.
Shaikh Mohammad said the UAE welcomes every step to further cooperation, understanding and peace in the region.
The 13 agreements signed yesterday aim to enhance cooperation in investment, health, agriculture, transportation, advanced industries and technologies, climate, culture and youth.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have reviewed the prospects of further consolidating bilateral relations and advancing cooperation and joint work between the two nations in various fields in addition to the latest regional and international issues and developments of interest.
This came as Shaikh Mohammad welcomed the Turkish President and his accompanying delegation yesterday at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi.
His Highness welcomed President Recep Erdogan’s visit to UAE and expressed hope this “significant visit would create further momentum to strengthening cooperation and building a new prosperous phase of partnerships for the higher good of the two countries, their peoples and all the nations of the region.”
Cooperation opportunities
Shaikh Mohammad and President Erdogan reviewed the various cooperation opportunities available for the two countries, especially in the fields of investment, development, agriculture, food security, health, technology, innovation, space projects, artificial intelligence and renewable energy, which are all being prioritised in the UAE development agenda as well as sectors conducive to ensuring sustainable development in both countries.
The two sides also exchanged views on a number of issues and developments in the Middle East, stressing, in this context, that the two countries agree on the importance of supporting efforts and peaceful solutions aimed at enhancing security, peace and stability in the region.
Turkey’s solidarity with UAE
Shaikh Mohammad expressed his thanks and appreciation for the friendly position adopted by Turkey and its condemnation of recent Houthi terrorist attacks on civil sites in the UAE and its solidarity with the UAE in the face of these criminal attacks, wishing Turkey continued security, stability and prosperity.
Development partnerships
He also pointed out that the agreements and memoranda of understanding signed by the two countries during his recent visit to Turkey laid the foundation for the launch of fresh economic and trade partnerships between the two countries, stressing the UAE’s keenness to strengthen this partnership and push it forward during the coming period to double the volume of trade exchanges between the two nations.
Shaikh Mohammad noted that strengthening development partnerships for the benefit of the peoples of the region requires cooperation between their countries, especially in light of the many commonalities between the Arab and Turkish sides and the opportunities up for grabs for achieving growth, cooperation and prosperity.
This significant visit would create further momentum to strengthening cooperation and building a new prosperous phase of partnerships for the higher good of the two countries.”
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
It gives me great pleasure witnessing the recent acceleration in high-level contacts between the two countries and the visit of my dear brother His Highness Shaikh Mohammad last November to Turkey.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan | Turkey’s President
The two-day visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the UAE is a significant development in the steadily thriving ties between the two countries and the pursuit to achieve peace and stability in the region. It is the first visit of the Turkish leader to the UAE in 10 years and comes three months after the landmark November visit to Ankara by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The reciprocal visits signal a move in the relationship between the two regional powerhouses to a strategic level.
Ahead of his departure to Abu Dhabi, President Erdogan said regional issues would be high on his agenda. “We will discuss regional matters, our relations will be very important for the entire region,” he explained. His statement was echoed by Dr. Anwar Gargash, the Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, who stressed that the visit “opens a new positive page in the bilateral relations between the two countries.”
The UAE is already Turkey’s leading trade partner regionally with a trade volume of more than Dh26.4 billion ($7.9 billion) in the first half of 2021, a massive 10 per cent increase over the same period in 2020. In November, the UAE also announced plans to set up a $10 billion investment fund in Turkey, which focuses on strategic investments in the energy, health and food sectors. Currently, nearly 400 UAE companies do business in Turkey, mainly in real estate sector, tourism, and banking.
President Erdogan’s visit will see that relationship leaping forward as the two countries sign more agreements to add to the 10 agreements, in security, trade and technology, inked last year during Shaikh Mohammad’s visit.
The UAE and Turkey are key players in this region. To achieve the long elusive peace and stability in a region where conflicts continue to rage, the Middle East needs the collaboration of key players. A strong relationship between the UAE and Turkey will help achieve the stability and prosperity the people of this region aspire to.
The November visit by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed to Turkey was a milestone in the historic relations between the two nations. It opened the door wide to further cooperation. President Erdogan’s visit underlines the strategic depth of these relations and their importance to both peoples and the region in general.